Scattered thoughts, like a herd stampeding, go nowhere – fast. Cindy Reinhardt
Focusing our thoughts is the most powerful tool we have. And, yet ‘monkey mind’ often takes over. Dozens of conscious thoughts and countless unconscious ones clutter our personal ‘airwaves’ with static. Add in a bit of noise from any form of media or an unexpected event and focus is lost.
Lost that is unless we use our will to reign it in like cowboys/girls on horseback (or today on all-terrain vehicles) control a stampede.
I’ve had that opportunity on several occasions recently when unexpected events have popped up in the midst of moving. My scattered thoughts cover the gamut from the list of ‘to do’s’ to the business projects waiting patiently (or not) for attention. Yesterday’s focus was intended to be resolving the issue of getting internet service to the new home. Instead, my focus needed to be marshaled for an emergency trip to the vet and doggie care for Luke (he’s fine, but not pleased that the vet sewed him up with pink stitches).
What I’m discovering is that each unexpected event is an intersection where I have the opportunity to choose how and where to focus my energy. Only with diligence and awareness is that choice a conscious one of will rather than an automatic response. Only with that awareness do I have the power of choosing how I will respond rather than allowing a stampede of reactive thoughts to take over. Only with that commitment can I be fully present to what’s in front of me.
As the planet and much of humanity suffer unimaginable destruction, loss and disruption, I’m aware of how minor my interruptions are. Yet, I believe that it is in learning the power of our thoughts and our focus that we are creating our experience. Through discipline and practice, we can create our world much differently than that current experience.
Experiment for the Week: Take time this week to notice when you loose your focus to scattered thoughts. What different choice will you make to stop the stampede and focus on what is in front of you?