Thoughts

"Whatever you might hope to find
Among the thoughts that crowd your mind
There won't be many that ever really matter."

-- Jackson Browne

Do you realize that 90%, or more, of the thoughts you think today will be the same ones you thought yesterday? "I wish spring would hurry up and get here. Where should I go for lunch? What are the kids up to? Do I look fat in this outfit? What time is it?" On and on and on ad infinitum -- the same thoughts day in and day out.

Some experts say thoughts are merely a series of internal questions that we ask ourselves, and then answer. It all begins the moment you awake. "What time is it? What day is it? Do I need to get up? What am I suppose to do today?" The thought stream is up and running, and you're off to the races! Writer Joseph Chilton Pearce calls it "roof brain chatter," and it pretty much fills both our craniums and our days.

But if you meditate, or walk in nature, or quiet down enough in some other way, you might begin to notice the gap between thoughts, the silence out of which the best thoughts emerge. Most of the time the "train of thought" is just one railroad car after another, blurring together at breakneck speed and stretching out to the horizon. But if you slow down physically, eventually your thought process slows down, and you may make some amazing discoveries -- new thoughts!

At least new for you. New perspectives, different (less mundane) questions, alternative ways of seeing or constructing the world. Those are the thoughts that at least have a chance of mattering. All the rest, the reruns, the humdrum of everyday life are just space fillers or at best low level life maintenance.

So, today begin taking a little time to slow down and notice the gaps between thoughts. Reside in those empty spaces when at all possible, and let some new and different thoughts emerge. You'll still remember to pick up the dry cleaning. And if you don't, it will wait patiently for you until tomorrow.

Go deeper. Thoughts can be great tools, but they are not life itself. Beneath the stream of thought lies the deep, underground river of life. Tap into it and see how everything changes.