A Thought about thoughts

"Most people think that they are what their thoughts tell them they are.  One day I noticed that I wasn't breathing- I was being breathed.  Then I also noticed, to my amazement, that I wasn't thinking- that I was actually being thought and that thinking isn't personal.  Do you wake up in the morning and say to yourself, "I think I won't think today"?  It's too late: You're already thinking!  Thoughts just appear.  They come out of nothing and they go back to nothing, like clouds moving across the empty sky.  They come to pass, not to stay.  There is no harm in them until we attach to them as if they were true.

No one has ever been able to control his thinking, although people may tell the story of how they have.  I don't let go of my thoughts- I meet them with understanding.  Then they let go of me.

Thoughts are like the breeze or the leaves on the trees or the raindrops falling.  They appear like that, and through inquiry we can make friends with them.  Would you argue with a raindrop?  Raindrops aren't personal, and neither are thoughts.  Once a painful concept is met with understanding, the next time it appears you may find it interesting.  What used to be the nightmare is now just interesting.  The next time it appears, you may find it funny.  The next time, you may not even notice it.  This is the power of loving what is." from Loving What Is - by Byron Katie

This really made me think, then step back from those thoughts and smile... : )

Today's Silver Lining: ( in honor of going to see 311 on 3-11 day)

"Brainstorm, take me away from the norm, I got to tell you something, This phenomenon, I had to put it in a song, And it goes like, Whoa, amber is the color of your energy, Whoa, shades of gold displayed naturally, You ought to know what brings me here, You glide through my head blind to fear, And I know why, Whoa, amber is the color of your energy, Whoa, shades of gold displayed naturally  You live too far away, Your voice rings like a bell anyway, Don't give up your independence , Unless it feels so right, Nothing good comes easily, Sometimes you gotta fight."  Amber- by 311