One of the best realizations that I've recently had is that there's always going to be something wrong in almost every area of my life.
Now I know that sounds obviously terrible,
But let's break it down a little bit.
In the past I would find myself ruminating on a variety of social dramas,
Or some physical deficiencies that I find with my body,
Or some issue at work,
Or with my family,
Right?
There's always something going on and there's always something wrong,
There's always something that could be improved upon.
And it was my tendency to dwell on it,
To ruminate on it,
To push and push and push,
To try and rectify it,
To fix it.
But the problem was that even though when I fixed those problems a couple of things happened.
New problems would always arise and my mind would instantly start dwelling on other problems in other areas.
So I'd always find myself just focused on the negative.
But when I realized that there's always going to be problems,
There's always going to be issues,
There's always going to be things to consider and worry about,
It was actually quite freeing.
Because it enabled me to look at whatever current problem I'm dealing with,
Whatever thing I'm battling with at the moment,
And put it aside and go,
Hey,
Just like I have these other issues that were there and then they resolved themselves and we worked through it,
This current issue will resolve itself and it will be worked through.
It will take time,
It will take effort,
It's annoying,
But problems are always going to exist.
And from there I'm now able to appreciate the things that observing and focusing on and dwelling on and ruminating on those problems blocks out and pushes aside.
I'm now better able to appreciate the small joys in the moment,
My son's smile,
The sounds of nature,
An ice cold drink on a warm day,
The very fact that I'm alive and in general happy and healthy and successful.
Right?
I found that if I dwell on and focus on and try and ruminate on a picture and fix all of these issues that are always going to be around,
That I lose sight of what really matters,
Of the good things.
Because,
You know,
There's this tendency to sort of want to arrive somewhere,
This desire to like,
Let's get to this place and everything's going to be good when you get to that place.
But the reality is that that place of goodness doesn't quite exist.
Even if you accomplish your goals,
There will always be another goal.
Even if you solve a problem or buy that thing that you've been saving for or you marry that person or whatever it is,
There's always the next thing and the next thing and the next.
We never really arrive anywhere.
In reality,
We just go from seeking to seeking to seeking.
So with this approach,
If you can look at and accept that there will always be something wrong and then become okay with that,
It will enable you to look past those things that are wrong and embrace and accept and enjoy the good things that are always around you that you might otherwise be overlooking.
And really,
Isn't that the purpose of mindfulness?
To put you in the present moment,
To take you away from dwelling on all of those things and just to settle with the reality as it is for what it is right now.
Happy meditating.
