If it seems that a busy mind is a problem, then it will likely appear obvious to look for a calm mind. But why is it said, “Want a job done well? Ask a busy person”? In fact, what is a busy mind? Where is a busy mind? What makes it wrong to have one? How could a busy mind take you away from ‘the moment’? How many thoughts can you experience at one time, even in the myriad of sensations and perceptions? How long can one thought last? Who drew an arbitrary line that declared ‘circumstances’ can’t affect us, but a state of mind can?
Naturally, at times, we’ll believe our minds to be busy, and at times, calm. And if a calm mind seems preferable, we’ll generally attribute the calm mind to something we did, or something we learnt. And still, naturally, it appears that a state of mind fluctuates.
Notice that whatever the state of mind, we’re there to observe and experience it. And notice that the mind is only present with a state of mind—in fact, we can’t find a consistent mind that experiences changing states. Who we are, then, is not any particular state of mind. Who we are is that which knows the mind, knows its comings and goings.
Let’s look to this knowing, rather than trying to fix something that fluctuates as naturally as the tide. And in that knowing, let us find the peace of our own being, regardless of a state of mind.
With Love,
Sara
