If thoughts had legs.
If thoughts had legs, they would be running in circles, and we would question our sanity for following them around all day.
Sitting in meditation reminds us, over and over, that we took off down the street again, chasing our silly thought legs. Where are those lawless limbs always off to, anyways? If we hired special agents to locate them - let's call them awareness officers - their first act would be to issue search warrants for two neighborhoods. It is always the same two places. Can you guess where they are? Let’s just say I never witnessed thought legs running in the present moment.
Fast, powerful sprinters and long, wiry marathoners are constantly racing in our head. Whether we chase after them, that is up to us. That is why we practice. Or as Thich Nhat Hanh would say, ‘Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping.' Eventually, we may even wake up from our stupor before waking up in a ditch by the side of the road, thinking, ‘huh? How did I get here?’ Our practice saves us from taking expensive trips to nowhere.
So, next time you find yourself chasing after those pesky thought legs, don’t be too hard on yourself. Smile at yourself for running after those goofy, body-less twiddle-sticks. Give them credit, pay your respects. God knows, they love the attention. Then, gently, bring your awareness back to your breath. If you still find yourself in a ditch by the side of the road, take another breath. And another. Reach out a hand to your thought legs, walk yourself home.
I invite you to smile at your thought legs with us tomorrow at 8:30 pm* for our fourth group meditation of 2023. We will be practicing 'labeling thoughts,' a mindfulness meditation technique. Zoom link: https://stevens.zoom.us/j/99566082328.
*We will be practicing at 8:30 pm, NOT 8 pm, on 1/23.