* hi. how do people stop and smell roses? i mean, i’ve tried to, but it’s not enjoyable. keeping my mind in the moment without analyzing the past or thinking about the next moment or future moments is really difficult. and the fact that it’s so difficult is frustrating. i feel like this inability to stop and smell roses is contributing to my overall stress level. my stress level (if you haven’t guessed) is high.
how come some people can free their mind from what’s next or what has happened and some people, like me, find it so hard? it’s like life’s a race and i’m trying to sprint to my death. morbid, right? but exactly how i feel when there are roses to be smelled but my brain is nagging about what’s next, “you have to do laundry. you should go for a run. you’re thirsty. you need to pee…” etc.
the people who know how to stop best are buddhists. they recognize life is all about suffering so the best way out (of the race to get reincarnated as something better or worse depending on how you’ve lived your life a.k.a. karma) is to completely check out of it. live as a monk. meditate and practice yoga during time not spent sleeping or eating donated food. buddha knew how to smell roses.
so, i’m not going to become a monk. i think i would be really ugly bald, not that i would care if i was actually a monk. but i feel that if i keep on this trajectory of anxiety about nextness or pastness i’ll never enjoy the rightnowness. and that would be a shame. maybe it’s just the way i’m thinking about it. maybe it’s not about stopping. apparently this concept makes me uneasy. i feel like a stalled car at a green light with people honking behind me. maybe it’s about letting the happy parts of the race be as happy and long as possible. maybe there’s comfort knowing suffering is just a part of life and once we accept that suffering will come back to us, time spent not suffering is ok.
k *
I guess one thing I have always thought it important is.. if your bathroom is dirty for a few days, that’s ok, if your laundry sits a few days longer, that’s ok too.. because one day I’m going to die.. and then really how long my clothes sat on the floor will be totally irrelevant.
Oh, and don’t forget some people really love you. A lot.
its funny, as soon as I saw the title of this blog and read the first line I thought, “she should look into the buddhist way of thinking.” Especially the Four Noble Truths!
I can relate
@John Edgar, thanks for your comment
very true and very appreciated xo
@Mag, so now i’ve looked into it. now the hard part – thinking that way
@Dataman, yes, knowing you, you can