Hi,
It's Brooks and here we are.
It's good to be here with you,
Wherever you are,
Out there in the big vast world,
You know.
And I'm sitting in my office.
It's nice to sit here.
Sometimes I don't like doing anything,
I just like to sit.
Feels good.
Feels really quiet.
Very peaceful.
There's always something to do if I had to do it,
You know.
But doing nothing is one of my favorite things.
Just to sit and be quiet.
I mean I'll have thoughts and stuff,
So it's not really totally quiet.
And I'll look around at stuff,
So I guess that's an activity.
So maybe it's more than just sitting.
But it feels very hyper,
Like a very strong awareness.
I'm aware of my thoughts and I'm aware of them looking around the room.
There's something calming about that.
I don't know if this is for everybody because let's just say it suits my nature to do nothing,
To take it easy.
And you might have a nature that's different than that.
You might have a nature that just likes to constantly be doing stuff.
It feels good.
There are so many different kinds of people in the world.
There's no one way to be.
I mean we can certainly try to be a lot of different things.
I think a lot of the world is other people trying to convince us what we should do or how what we're doing is wrong.
But really it comes down to what feels good to me.
Sometimes it's hard to notice that voice.
Sometimes we didn't think of taking a look at that voice.
But it's really nice for me when it becomes clear that if I'm doing something I don't like it,
Like this doesn't serve me.
This doesn't feel right.
When I stop doing it,
It's such a relief.
I don't even have to replace it with anything.
Actually letting go of something that doesn't feel good to me feels crappy.
What I get is the feeling of relief.
So I guess that's what I end up doing is feeling relieved.
Maybe you've had that experience yourself too.
You know when you're doing something like,
I'm not enjoying this,
And you stop and you feel really good.
You feel really peaceful.
It's funny because what can be peaceful one day might not be peaceful the next day.
I remember when I was in college and I came in the dining hall one night and rather than get a big plate of food,
Which I normally did,
I had this thought,
I'm just going to eat a grapefruit.
This feeling,
That's all I want.
And I ate it and it was delicious.
And I felt really good.
I went to sleep that night feeling really wonderful.
And then the next night when I went to the dining hall for dinner,
I thought,
Oh,
I should probably get a grapefruit again because the last time it was really a good experience.
But I didn't have a good feeling about it when I was thinking that.
And then I got a grapefruit and I started eating it and I thought,
I don't want a grapefruit.
This is not great for me.
And I got a big plate of food.
I don't know if that ever happens to you where something is,
Yeah,
One moment and isn't the next.
But maybe that's part of the human condition.
I think it's essentially life is unfigurable.
That's really my experience.
In the moment I can know what's going on,
I can sense what to do or what not to do.
But a long-term plan or this is what I'm going to do later tonight or this is what I'm going to do in an hour from now,
It never works.
It's always simpler for me to just look a barometer in the moment.
What's appropriate right now.
It wasn't appropriate for me to have words right after I said that so it's nice to sit there quietly and not say anything.
Yeah so here I am and here you are wherever you are.
It's funny that we're both here.
Like we're in different places.
But what's true is we're both here.
In a timeless moment.
And right now all the different words I can think of to explain it but it's real simple.
It's just the feeling of here I am.
That's all we can ever say about ourselves really is here I am.
It's like a constant.
Regardless of whatever it is that we're doing.
Here I am talking to you.
A few months ago here I am not saying anything.
But the basis of it is here I am.
Which it makes me feel really relaxed.
Maybe you get a sense for that too.
Like here I am.
Here we are.
As we are.
It's nice.
Rather than having to be something.
What's wrong with me because I'm not whatever fill in the blank.
It's nice to be here.
I guess basically that means it's nice to be alive.
Well that's it.
That's all I got to say.
And I really appreciate you being here with me.
And wish you the best.
Take care.
