Hard Facts/ Soft Minds

 Hard facts soft minds

We want it all and we want it now. Give it to me straight doc! 

There's a rat in a maze in our minds looking for cheese and then feverishly towards the exit when the cheese is gone. It's the fast pace instant gratification culture that has trained us in wanting quick and easy solutions to all of our petty and maybe not so petty ills. Rarely is there ever a pause and then the idea of stopping to "smell the roses" becomes a throw away platitude that none of us tend to take very seriously. 

We love to manufacture our own problems and then treat us to a little escape or reward  when we somehow find a solution. It may be a quick fix, but it sure does feel good. It's the small successes that add up, but if we are constantly just trying to get from Point A to Point B then we miss the treasured journey along the way even if it might be a little uncomfortable or god forbid inconvenient. 

What happened to that half empty space of letting things sink in? That moment in time when things aren't so certain and we may not even know what to do. If there was a pill or a quick fix for everything, then we would turn in to programmable fleshy automatons easily swayed into the next temporary appeasement. Sometimes that may even be the goal. If we are easily manipulated then we can easily buy things that will capture our attention and make us feel good for a little while. Then we move on. Repeat customers. Bright packaging and catchy tunes. 

There is great power and wisdom in the "I don't know". If we can sit with it and breathe through and embrace the uncertainty then we discover a space that isn't trying to rush to next big thing that will fill our attention and run our unconscious thought programming. We tend to fall in to almost a cyclical psychosis of thought that gravitates heavy towards pleasure and away from pain and discomfort. The idea of "things going wrong" can turn pebbles into the boulders. We construct " bad days" when a succession of events we thing are bad happen in a cyclical time period. At the end of the day, it's really how we perceive it. Instead of learning and paying attention to these little bumps in the road, we internalize it and let it build. What better way to relieve that pressure, but to escape it or think that we deserve a "break" from all these little jabs in the side. 

Why are we so averse to boredom? 

Our meager monkey minds strive to always have it occupied. If the mouse isn't running on the wheel, then what else would it be doing? It's almost as if our attentions are not constantly occupied that we may be thrusted into an abyss of uncertainty and high anxiety. There is great ease in doing nothing, but it requires the patience, presence and attention that tends to be highly inconvenient and albeit incongruent with the way we design our linear task driven lives. It's ok to sit down on a bench and simply be. No screen. No book. No fidget. Just you and everything in front of you. Including all that soupy mess of thoughts in your head.

The market for meditation and mindfulness if on the rise. It has been commodified. Signed, sealed and delivered to the masses as a way to "deal" with the stresses we have inflicted on ourselves or let others inflict upon us. A Quick Fix Complex. If it can grab your attention on a magazine cover, then it might just grab you enough to buy it and see what's inside. But you say you will read it, but 2 weeks later it just collects dusts and becomes part of the marble landscape on your kitchen island or slightly scratched wooden coffee table. It's the initial idea that makes us slightly intoxicated. Idea drunk. The idea of meditation and stress relief is a nice one. It may even take us on a little mental sabbatical from all the gunky mundane thoughts in our noggin. It's the idea of presence that resonates, but the idea of working on it and being conscious is a whole different ball game in a well kept field of dreams. 

We may even commit. A few minutes of day of meditation or mindfulness or whatever. It becomes habitual. A part of the day. Almost like brushing our teeth or making your bed for you overachievers out there. Then it becomes dull like every routine in our little thought powered lives. Then the spark is not there, it starts to feel like work. We lose it. We then realize how easy it is to get sucked into the cushions of the couch and vacation from screen to screen. Like a moth to a park full of lamps. Maybe it was never about the meditation. We are geniuses at compartmentalizing things that we think we should do in order to get what we think we may want. You take it day by day and realize that it's all a miss. A constant cycle of unconsciousness and thought psychosis. Do we really just live out our lives without taking a step back and observing the sheer beautiful absurdity of it all? 

Give it to me straight, Doc. How long do I have to live? 

Well what if we knew the date of our death? What would that change about how we think and act in life? We play so many scenarios in our head. The best case scenario. The worst case scenario. And sometimes a wild card where we may throw our hands up and actually take a risk that may seem irrational..at first. Truly if we knew our expiration date, we might have an awakening of presence. Each experience no matter how mundane, would be a dance of glee and understanding. Each little small irritant would feel like a small gust of wind at the back of our neck. We would let it roll of our shoulders or shake it off like the slightly disturbed ducks in the pond. It's the thought that counts when we get caught up in it. Grudges are slow poisons. Regrets are programmable errors. Life is a dance punctuated by bathroom breaks, mishaps and catered lunches. There is so much to live for when you know the end is coming even if it may be years or decades away. Imagine having intense presence and intention with all your action. No expectations. No dissatisfaction. Imagine jumping in the cold water without thinking about it. Once that thought of anticipation creeps in then it makes you pause. It throws you back into that mental space that takes you out or the totality of your body. Jump for Pete's sake. You'll appreciate the rush. 

E X P E R T I S E

We are experts at putting things in boxes. We put on our rationalizing masks and seemingly try to convince ourselves that all the facts line up and that it all "makes sense". It's only a small piece of the pie. We like to make things rigid because it makes us feel like we have a sense of purpose and discipline. It seems as if the concept of discipline has been thrusted down our throats. Hard work they said. Success is the cherry on top, but you have to get there somehow! Block off this time for that and make sure to make time for the other thing. Also while you are at it, keep chasing the dream. Keep going for it! If you are following a dream you must be following something. But be weary of what you follow because it might lead you to a place you didn't want to be. Skepticism is key. Uncertainty is a type of necessity. Stand up straight. Pull back your shoulders. And also make sure and put on a smile. You wouldn't want people seeing you be unhappy, now would you? 

Well we certainly don't have the facts and constantly conforming to a totalitarian calendar is not the way either. Where is the nuance? Where is the spontaneity? Ah, yes the dancing again. When our mind is too rigid then we become dull servants not fully awake to what we could be doing. Better yet.. Could be being. When we are so focused on doing, then we miss the presence that is gifted to us every time we wake up. The small moments that are everything when you are present and attentive. Stop the chase. Joy is simply a byproduct of being present. The more we chase the happiness fairy, the further it flies and hides. Listen to those little feelings and take out that brain of yours for a while. Let is soak. Give it a bath and forget about it for a minute. That little fleshly fat organ needs as much of a break as you do. Simply do not mind the mind. 

DG