I sit this morning during my meditation watching the train of troubles pass by.
Worries about my kids. My parents. My job.
Things I need to do. Bills I need to pay.
An endless train of troubles. They’re all so urgent, every one of these passing thought cars.
They’re loud and brightly painted, like a carnival train.
They flash at me, beckoning urgently at me to jump onboard.
I have gotten better at this task of witnessing over the years. Just sitting and watching the mad procession of thoughts without acting on them.
Still, now and then I get caught.
A passing trouble grabs me and I jump onto the thought train as it takes me for a ride.
I ride the train like a bucking horse – sometimes for only a few seconds, sometimes for a minute or two – before I realize what I’m doing, and I pop off the train to stand on the side of the road again in my position of witness.
To be in that place of witness is to be in my power. A place of peace and stillness. Unshakable.
To jump on the train is to hand over power of my life to my rambling mind.
I get to choose.
Every moment of the day, I get to choose.
Every time I choose not to ride that train – or to ride it for a while, conscious that I’m riding it – I deepen my powers.
I see more clearly. Feel more peaceful, more centered, more grateful.
My life unfolds as a purposeful journey.
May I make my choices wisely this day.
And I pray the same for you.
Peace,
Jim