‘Mind’ matters

   

    Back home, everyone is geared to celebrate the most beloved day of the year. A day that marks freedom for our country, Independence Day means a lot to each one of us. And hence the blogger in me could not resist the temptation of featuring this ‘freedom’ in one way or the other. But, this is not a conventional patriotic post to talk about our country. I am about to use this ingredient of freedom in a unique, offbeat recipe.

      While last year, I blogged about the meaning of being free in today’s progressive society, this year I plan to do something different. This post will talk about freedom of ‘mind’. Independence to that little fellow who is seated in each one of us. Through the post, I want to communicate with our minds and urge it to be free. I want to tell this mind to stay away from any preconceived notions or judgments. I want this mind to enjoy every experience with open arms. I want to request this mind to untangle itself from any long chain of thoughts and be alive in the open. I want to urge it to stop holding onto the past or jumping into the future. Indeed, a long list of ‘wants’….

   Our mind is nothing less than a dynamic factory, churning millions of thoughts day in and day out. A workshop of thoughts, emotions, feelings and ideas, it is truly hardworking in every way. But do we really take care of this factory in an efficient manner? Are we able to be friends with it and enjoy its presence? Are we able to let it wander in a free style, yet control it for our own good? Are we above our minds or is our mind above us when we drift away into an endless sea of thoughts? Do we control its actions and reactions or do we let it command over us? And finally, what does it mean when we say ‘our mind’ is free?

  So many questions but no fixed answers. With this post, I do not want to push you into some philosophical maze, while you struggle to find your way out. But, I wish to talk about this significant ‘player’ in our lives. A lot is said about mind, but it is one such aspect of our lives that cannot be defined in any clear terms. Each one has a different opinion about what mind means to us or what mind does to us. 

     According to one of the lessons in Bhagawad Gita, mind can be our greatest friend or it can be our worst enemy. The choice to make it our friend or enemy lies in our hands. We can either choose to be with it and treat it as a fellow mate or we can allow it to control us, making us an aimless follower. If we decide to go with the latter, we realize that mind is able to make us dance to its tunes. Slowly, it captures our thought process completely and forces us to act the way it wants us to.

   That does not mean, mind decides bad for us. By staying optimistic, we can ensure flow of good thoughts. Or by practicing meditation, we can experience positive vibes. But, let’s be honest with ourselves. Is it possible to have such strong control over our minds that it shall not drift away at the first possible opportunity? It will be incorrect to talk on your behalf and forcefully include you in my club, while I share my beliefs. 

    No matter how many tons of patience, optimism, happiness and peace I order and purchase for this little friend, they always fall short. And hence at the next available opportunity, it runs to grab negativity, judgments, anger, hatred or irritation. It starts to behave like a small child who demands and prefers chocolates and candies over nutritious food at home. This makes it essential to train our minds for our own good always. Unless we learn to cut our thoughts at the right time, it is impossible to expect any external help. Mind will always do what it does best- think, think and overthink. But it is up to us - either we entertain it or reject it.

  We allow it to be ‘hurt’ easily. But what is this ‘hurt’? It is nothing but fragment of our imagination. Just because someone opposes us or disagrees with our opinion, we are ‘hurt’ with their differences. Or if someone choose to lace their words with anger, we are ‘hurt’ by their behavior. When things do not go our way, we are again ‘hurt’ by the entire experience. In each of these aspects, you will realize that being ‘hurt’ was your choice. It was not enforced. 

    What others think about you or how they treat you is none of your concern. Hence, it is essential to free our mind from such useless thoughts that yield no output. We can sit for hours thinking about a bad experience or how someone treated us incorrectly. But will that change the past or improve the future? Rather, we must urge our minds to embrace freedom. That does not mean, we can let it wander aimlessly. It simply means we must free it from unnecessary thoughts and engage it into productive work.

   To conclude, I will write an open note to this mind, after all it is our dear friend.

Dear Mind,

 Hope you are doing well. We talk so much about you but never to ‘talk’ to you. Hence I chose to write this short note.

Thank you for your presence, your positive vibes, your concentration and determination.

Sorry for not stopping you at the right time, while you wander around in judgments, criticism, hatred and anger.

I promise to take good care of you and request you to be free. Be free from the need to behave in a certain manner and enjoy yourself thoroughly. Take care of your needs and learn to walk away when the atmosphere starts to choke you. Learn to keep your room clean and get rid of all incorrect thoughts. And lastly, enjoy the experience of ‘minding’ me!

Yours truly,

A well-wishing body!