Tag: presence

Thoughts

There is sometimes pain in the stillness and that can be a barrier to sitting quietly and turning inward. But the alternative, I’ve found, is being knocked around by thoughts the entire day. You must still do this. Oh, remember that. What if that doesn’t work out. Instead of being present with whatever I’m engaged in I get distracted by these constant internal interruptions.

Sometimes I just give up arguing with all the thoughts in my head and ask myself: What is truly important? As I go down the winding road of ideas, I inevitably always get to the same answer: being present.

Why inner peace matters more than outer circumstances

After doing various drafts of this post I realised that there is really only one thing to say here, and that is that the neediness inside us will never be satisfied. Something inside—call it the ego, call it the small self—whatever that thing is will always want more, always need more, and will never be satisfied. So, we might as well be at peace now.

(Related Articles: Two modes of being: The locust and the lotus.)

Two modes of being: The locust and the lotus.

Every so often I forget to make the present moment a priority. The mode I usually go into is one that spirals into a feeling of neediness and anxiety. It’s like being driven by a perpetual unrest inside. It feels like a grabby-ness, a wanting-to-get, or just a wanting-to-be-somewhere-else.

Continue reading “Two modes of being: The locust and the lotus.”