Sit alone in a safe space.
Nothing needs to be done now.
Everything is fine.
How long until your mind claims something is wrong?
How long until thoughts demand action?
“I should be learning something.”
“I should be working harder.”
“I should be working out more.”
“I should be invading a country.”
“I should be trying to be a success.”
“I should be less/more this/that.”
Sit for long enough and “shoulds” will pile on top and fall all over each other.
If you can’t sit and do nothing in the comfort of your home without feeling bad about it, something is off, isn’t it?
Many problems in the world boil down to this: not being able to sit with ourselves.
—
Be alone in the safety of your home. Or be in the middle of a war zone.
Your mind will argue for wrongness.
The degree of wrongness might differ. But wrongness is certain.
Your mind thrives on wrongness. It hopes for wrongness.
And, of course, it will point outside itself as the source of wrongness.
You go to bother others and the world so that they too can participate in your problems.
Anyone who tries to “get ahead” even if it includes causing pain to others couldn’t look into himself long enough.
Everyone (including yourself) suffers from your inability to do nothing.
What if you sit just a moment longer?
What will happen if you don’t follow every thought fueled by emotional debris?
Aren’t you curious to know?
There is a world outside the incessant demands of your mind. This world is pure and unconditioned.
It’s free from the affective tendrils of the “human condition.”
In that world, you’re happy and harmless.
Until the conditioned world comes rushing back in and you need to fight and struggle again.
—
Doing nothing for a while is not acceptable. You need to earn your place under the sun.
And while you’re at it earning it, point the elbows outward. Others want your seat.
Living your life is not enough. The mind wants to improve, influence, control, direct, help, etc., other people’s lives and the world.
Thus the trouble gains momentum.
“You’re not okay the way you are.”
“The world should be different.”
“You should improve.”
“Everything should improve.”
“You need to make something of yourself.”
“Do something!”
says the mind.
The world’s insanity agrees.
Listen for the gap between fears.
Is there something that is not about pampering your image, improving your worth, or being someone special?
Why not look for something that isn’t based on vanity?
Does anything force you to act and behave in the ways you’re used to?
What gives rise to all this mess we so indiscriminately believe in?
You can’t find the answers to any important question without observing yourself.
And you can’t observe yourself if you’re busy running from yourself.
—
People always ask
How to live? What to do? Who am I?
As soon as those questions have left your lips, prescriptions flood in to give you step-by-step advice.
How to Live Life. 10 Steps to Live Life. Do These 5 Things if You Want to Live Life.
Does the ceaseless multidirectional advice feel like poison to you yet?
If you truly don’t know what to do, consider this suggestion:
Do nothing.
Doing nothing is not easy.
It’s not laziness. It’s not procrastination. It’s not avoidance.
It’s the act of listening to what the totality of your being wants right now. It’s the act of seeing what’s happening in your experience. It’s the act of ceasing automatic reactions.
Have you ever truly done nothing?
Many people haven’t.
We think doing nothing includes engaging in the easy entertainment available instantly all the time.
And if you don’t have that, your mind will grasp onto anything to keep busy:
Imaginings, worries, fears, hopes, dreams, memories…
It will convince you that doing anything makes more sense than just sitting with yourself for a while.
It might even turn doing nothing into something to be good or bad at.
It might call it meditation and start tracking your progress.
Your mind will hijack anything and everything.
—
If there is nothing you feel like doing right now, why not honor that?
This is the simplest and most obvious way to live life: do what you feel like doing in each moment.
You will quickly notice the discrepancy between what you think you should be doing (for future achievement) and what you actually want to do now.
Often we listen to the former out of fear of being failures. We fear that if we don’t work toward a better future nothing will change.
But how do you know if you’ve never tried the other way?
Why always give in to fear?
People talk about letting go and surrendering. This is a way to dip your toe.
Put your egoic desires aside and listen to what is indicated right now.
And if doing nothing is indicated right now, be humble and just do nothing for a little while and see.
—
Observe.
You have the best seats in house.
The mind’s show is playing just for you.
As long as you’re not closely looking, the show will seem real and overwhelming.
You’ll have no choice but to get on the stage and take the leading role and be all serious and anxious about it.
Come back down from the stage. Settle into the seat and watch.
See what happens when you do nothing about the show.
How long until you realize that you are not needed?
How long until you realize that doing takes care of itself?
How long until you realize that you have never done anything?
The show doesn’t need you to keep going. It has never needed you. You were never in control.
Isn’t that a relief?
Relax.
Notice the tensions melting away.
You’re free, free from yourself.
Always were.
Luka
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Beautiful!
Great
Beautiful something I definitely needed right now 💘
I’m glad you liked it, Natosha.
Asombroso. Cada vez que lo leo encuentro algo nuevo que resuena en mi experiencia. Cómo si dijera: Ajá, Éso es, Así es. Después de lecturas complejas, ésta lectura directa es la que necesitaba. Gracias Luka!