There are days when you get up and feel very tired, although you may apparently had slept well. You know why? Because something has happened which may have caused deep anxiety, or you may have watched a movie which was disturbing, or you may have read a news about some senseless crime. All this triggers a chain of thoughts. You try to relate them to your life, past incidences or your surroundings and suddenly everything seems so real, you get worried. Fear plays havoc in your mind. And it does not go away easily. Anything new happens you try to relate that to the old story which stirred your mind. Amidst these chaos how can you not feel tired? Because negative thoughts and worries deplete energy.
Now you see, each thought has a beginning and an end. But we don’t stop there. The thoughts have a tendency to generate more thoughts; they are contagious, they interact with our huge bank of memories, and natural tendency is to dwell upon the bad ones. It is like throwing a stone into the still water causing ripples. The only difference is the ripples die down and water becomes still again. Our mind does not. It creates, brings about new stones all the time, and the ripples continue.
There was a Master staying on the bank of the river. He had a disciple who was learning to meditate and still his mind. Master decided to test him. One day he asked him to bring two buckets of water from the river. The disciple quickly obliged. As he was approaching, Master shouted ‘Drop it’. The disciple dropped one bucket. Master again shouted, ‘Drop it’. The disciple dropped the second bucket. Master again shouted, ‘Drop it’. Now the disciple was completely confused. He just stood there, and then asked, ‘Now what should I drop?’
Master said, ‘Drop the thought that you dropped the buckets!!’
So, this is what happens. Our mind is very sticky; it sticks to the past, whatever happens. There is no respite from it. But why there are so many thoughts? Why is our mind so restless? Because that is the very nature of mind. Mind equates to thoughts. Also, it is a mechanism for humans to protect themselves, be on guard about the possible danger around, plan for the future, make the right decisions, so on and so forth. So of course it is essential to think. But most times this thinking becomes excessive. It is habitual. You are not equipped to make right choices, you may not have all the information to decide, and you go in circles. Or you are worried about something in future, which has not materialised yet. There are million things mind thinks, it must think about how to protect its owner, that is you!
But not often your thinking is about any important issue. Not often it is about you making any decision of strategic importance. Not often it is intended for any specific outcome. In fact most often our thinking is like the water in a small puddle, which is the same day in day out. There is no newness in it. There is no freshness. In fact, you can do an experiment. Just for a week, keep a diary of your thoughts; what you think, what comes in your mind. And look at it at the end of the week. You will be surprised how repetitive they are.
One of the fundamental problems is – we have stopped observing, we are far too pre-occupied. We are buried in day-to-day chores. Once we realise this, once we are conscious of it, we can overcome this. We just need to stop constantly forming opinions, stop judging others, stop getting ourselves dragged into worldly affairs. Rather just observe, spend more time in the nature, find the beauty around you. There are so many inspiring people around us, we just have to move out from our closet and connect with whatever is beautiful around. Because then you really achieve that unison with the Divine. And Divine is present only in the Present. Trust in Him, have unwavering faith in Him. That will free you from the shackles of the past, and help you embrace this Now that is ever present! All the stillness and peace that you are striving for is in that present. The present that moves with the time. And the time that we must move with. Then life changes from puddle to river, ever fresh.
Photo: Lake Tahoe, United States
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