The Diversion Excursion - Grasshopper
From my vantage point, the main reason we seek out diversions is to escape the thoughts in our heads. Some people are on a lifetime trip to nowhere in an effort not to be alone with their thoughts.
If your thoughts continually run amok, you’ll be running from them for the rest of your life.
Notice that once the diversion is gone, the thoughts are right there waiting for you. Some of the diversions are harmful: excessive alcohol use, drugs, overeating, non-stop activity. The list of diversions we employ is endless.
The key to making peace with your thoughts, so that you can have more quiet moments, is to observe them.
Observation is the key to a quieter mind. It’s the most effective way to disengage from the thought machine. When you engage with your thoughts, you’re in back and forth arguments, none that you have ever won.
Did you ever notice when you argue with yourself that there are two arguers? That will always lead to war.
When you just observe your thoughts, you are just witnessing your mind at work, not fighting with it. Your mind is putting on a show, and if you don’t want an antagonizing role in this production, observe.
Observe as an unemotional bystander, never as a participant. When you observe your thoughts, they lose their steam and as a result, you become more serene.
Observation takes practice. Your mind will always invite you in to fight or to take flight in the form of a diversion. By taking the time to observe, your nagging thoughts lose their verve.
You don’t have to run away from your mind. You can train it to be more kind by the simple practice of observation.
An observed thought gathers no steam and needs no diversion.
All the best,
John
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