The Bird And The Snake

The mind is not meant for peace.

The mind is meant to think.

Peace is not a function of the mind.

That's not what it has evolved into. 

The mind evolved to keep you alive. 

Watch a bird for a few minutes . . .

    See how they are constantly watching out for a predator?

     They are constantly on the move,

     never getting a second of peace,

      always in danger—

       forever scanning for danger.

That's your mind.

    That's its evolutionary design.

     It scans for danger.

      To keep you alive.

      It notices repeating patterns,

      and starts to anticipate.

       It predicts the future,

        finding the safest path for you,

        and you mistake it for intuition.

To think about not thinking is to think about it—it is to shine a spotlight on it. 

        To assume that the mind can fix the mind, or that there is anything to fix at all, is a grave mistake. 

       Searching for peace in the mind is like the snake eating its tail.

The river flows,

     and so does the mind.

       It always flows.

       It's what you believe about those thoughts that bring them meaning. 

       But you are not your stream of thoughts.

       Your stream of thoughts is mostly reacting to events around you,

         or you consciously choose to distract it,

         in an attempt to silence it—to dam it. 

But,

   whatever we repress,

     we manifest.

     To dam your flowing stream of thoughts is impossible. 

     Stress is there to let you know that something isn't right in your life—that you're in danger.

      Your actions aren't aligned with your soul.

       And day after day,

       As that repeats,

       You start to feel uneasy.

       You start to stress.

        Your thoughts start to haunt you.

        You start to lose yourself.

When you feel squeezed by life

   that is your sign 

    to change.

Your body and your mind are telling you 

     it's time to rearrange 

      yourself.

The anxiety you feel,

it’s natural.

It’s human. 

It's necessary.

It's important.

Listen to it.

Don't be afraid of your thoughts.

Listen to them.

Write them down.

Face them.

And let them go.

Let the river flow.

The mind scans for danger, creating stress for you. It overthinks and over-analyzes. It does mental gymnastics to rationalize anything to yourself, all while soaked in your bias, creating a little bubble you live in. This is its purpose, and there is nothing wrong with it. It serves its purpose extremely well. It has kept you safe for a long time. But peace does not exist in the mind. That’s impossible. Safety and peace are not the same thing.

No, peace does not come from the mind. It comes from a different organ. The heart. Peace comes from listening to your heart, not your mind. Peace speaks from your soul, you cannot put it in a box and force it out of you. You get blessed with it. You cannot force it. You have to let it greet you like an old friend. The more you try to grab onto control of it, the more it slips through your grip. The more you resist it, the stronger it gets. 

The best we get is small pockets of peace among the raging chaos all around us. 

Use your mind. Grow it. But don’t forget to include your heart and soul. 

CH 2/9/26