Living Alone - Grasshopper

AARP magazine claims more people are living alone now than ever before. I count myself among them.

The familiar term empty nester comes to mind. And when I actually did the math the other day, I surprised myself. I’ve lived alone for only 1.2% of my life.

Then The Grasshopper tossed this into the mix:

“When you live alone, you’re alone with your thoughts more often.”

That stopped me.

It got me thinking about the flavor of the thoughts we receive. Are they tasty?Bland?Or do they give us some indigestion?

Indigestion seems to be the flavor of choice most of the time. And here’s the interesting thing–we don’t actually get to choose what thoughts pop into our minds. It’s pot luck.

So what do we do with these frequent, unwanted visitors?

We welcome them.

Set an extra plate at the table and serve them.

“What shall I feed them?” you ask.

Give them a meal of undivided attention.

Just notice your thoughts in action.

Resist the urge to engage them in conversation or debate. Don’t argue. Don’t defend. Simply notice what they have to say–unemotionally–like a court reporter taking notes.

Notice your mind at work.

And this will cause your thoughts, as my neighbor used to say when they had to leave early, to “chew and screw.”

Bottom line?