Slow Line

          

 

              

Through meditation and the practice of disciplines such as slowing down and keeping the mind one-pointed, we can learn to do something that sounds impossible: when thoughts are tailgating each other, we can slip into the flow of mental traffic, separate thoughts that have locked bumpers, and slowly squeeze ourselves in between.

 

THOUGHT FOR A DAY

Eknath Easwaran

 

Meditation is known for releasing stress, relaxing the body, tuning into silence and basically slowing our lovely selves down.  There is however, a secondary reward which can assist us in every moment of the day.

 

When we have learned to slow our minds down in meditation, it is a skill that can also be used in daily living.  When we slow down  our intake of things, we are more apt to maintain balance,  emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  When we see or hear our surroundings in slower motion, we are less likely to react. Our chances of acting appropriately increases.

 

When we feel triggered by any action seen or heard, we can open ourselves to the larger picture which generally reflects the possibility of taking things too personally.  When our thoughts are constantly being projected without censorship, we are likely to falsely assume we are a target.  If there are pauses in our thinking, there is time to effectively evaluate a situation.

 

An scenario displaying this would be:

I am in a grocery store line, waiting to check out.  The person in front of me is paying with a credit card and cash.  Then the credit card is rejected.  I am shifting from one foot to another wondering why I always end up in the slow line.  As my annoyance begins to flourish, the person behind me rams the cart into me, hitting my tender ankles tearing the skin.  Now furious, I begin to turn formulating insults in my mind, feeling personally attacked.  At the full turn,  however, I manage to take a breath and open my eyes to the full picture.  A little boy is hovering behind his mother and the mother is totally humiliated and quite anxious herself.  This has the potential for a full blown argument. Since I had added a pause, I am able to see the small frightened child who was just as anxious as me.  I choose to smile at the little guy, who then comes out of hiding. Laughing, I tell the mother while pointing to the child, "I had four little ones and I sure miss them all!"  The mother sighs with relief.