an interesting thought, from the 2019 Hawaii Biennale.

our attention drifts. a new sound or notification arises, a story in the news or a cramp in the leg, whatever it is that seeks our attention. it pulls us in multiple directions, each person trying to focus on the task at hand while at the same time juggling the multiple battles and objects in their lives. at times it can seem virtually impossible to sit down and stay quiet with a book for an hour. our brains have been twisted to capture bits of media in 30 second bits, we are being manipulated into a world where our lives are channeled into the media’s never ending quest for our attention and a consumer world willing to pay for it in exchange of services and goods. our monkey minds are eager exchange its attention for the bit of relief its ever noisy chants for better surroundings, health, friends, or whatever that stranger we sleep with (the mind not our spouses) is camorning for.

like a river flowing, there is little we can do to change the direction of our thoughts, but it can be done. to observe the mind and its inability to be tamed is a good start. each good 12 step system starts with the understanding that something exist. many of us do not get to this first step, we act as though the mind is almost a separate muscle, one that can be trained if you squint your eyes or focus hard, but in other times it simply goes on its own.  and it can and does go on like this for many people. like the rest of their lives, most people let the day be run for them, and let the feelings of the mind take over their moods. they hold onto anger, angst and other problems that occupy our frontal cortex, keeping us from feeling lighter moods or even venturing outside or interacting with others. they race from problem to problem, the chatter incessant in the background.

calm, quite, stop. in the end it is what happens, like a long dream you never wake up from, the mind will quiet. the game will end. only then will it truly quiet. till then, try to meditate, or at the minimum, try and observe the stranger we all go to sleep with each night.