Читать книгу Living Long, Living Passionately - Karen Casey - Страница 24

17 Seeking Solitude

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Seeking solitude as preparation for “changing our minds” opens the door to our future. Meditation is too little valued. “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large,” says Confucius. Without much effort, every one of us can have a positive impact on the world at large. It's as simple as choosing our thoughts with greater care. Every thought that we hover over becomes a bit more indelible, and when the thought that has taken center stage in our minds is an expression of love, we are affecting the universe in a good and peaceful way.

But not one of us is forever free from the occasional dark thought or dismissive demeanor; and when the inevitable happens (and it always does), our job is to quickly acknowledge what we are harboring in our minds and seek, at once, to shift our perception, to change our mind, in order to be better stewards of the universal mind. What a lofty job description.

I cherish this awareness in this last quarter of my life. Why? Because it means my life, my very existence, will never become superfluous to the constant hum of the world around me. Not one of us is without purpose, even when our contributions seem minimal to us. An expression of love, an act of kindness, a prayer for a friend or even a stranger, are the activities that change the world, making it more inhabitable moment by moment. And there isn't one among us who is incapable of offering one tiny gesture.

Before going one thought more, let's pause and consider what has transpired in our minds already since arising this morning. Let's consider each thought we have harbored so we can make whatever adjustment is necessary to ensure that we are impacting our world in a loving, healthy way.


Let's revisit our day so far.

What thought are you now uncomfortable with?

What thought do you wish you had coddled instead?

How different might your day be looking right now if you had been more protective of your thinking process?


How fortunate that what we thought only a moment ago holds no sway over us at this moment, unless we allow it to. This surely doesn't seem like a very profound realization, but it's one I didn't cotton to, and for sure never embraced, for the first four decades of my life. I so willingly gave my mind away, to whomever was nearby, sharing whatever opinion, pleasant or unpleasant, was being expressed. I was a chameleon. And I didn't even know it. Having a mind, a life of my own, was a foreign concept. I was sure that if my thoughts ran counter to yours, I'd soon be discarded for a more agreeable woman, a fear greater than the fear of death. Greater than the fear of death. What a powerful, lingering admission. And I didn't even recognize how little I thought of myself.

But now I do. Now you do too, or you wouldn't be interested in or comforted by this book. What thought are you trading in at this very moment? Perhaps a thought that served you very well last year but fits no longer. Let me share one of mine so that you get my meaning. In past years, I was prone to politely, but swiftly, letting others know when I didn't share their political or religious views. I wasn't bent on arguing, but I felt that if I said nothing when a companion shared his or her view, they might think I agreed with them. And if I didn't, I wanted them to know. I have gladly given up that idea. I may share where I am at, but more likely I'll let the moment pass. And it has empowered me, a realization I had not counted on. (There will be more on this topic in later essays.) Now it's your turn.


What thought or action can you let go of? And what can you replace it with?

Our personal power is hefty. Honoring it is both good for us and good for those who look to us as teachers.

Let's get back to meditation for a minute. That's where this essay began. In our quiet moments, we can fashion the person we want to be. With eyes closed, we can envision her holding forth with others, being who she has always longed to be. The power of this exercise cannot be overestimated. Who we see, we can be.

Who do you want to be now?


Living Long, Living Passionately

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