What's the point of holding onto uncomfortable moments? Do we do it for a reason? Is there any benefit?
Not exactly.
The truth is, the uncomfortable moments are holding onto us.
They're captivating our attention, our awareness, our consciousness.
Since we, at our essence, are pure consciousness, those uncomfortable moments have us vice-gripped. Once we're caught, there's no going back. The only thing left to do is wait for them to pass, so that we can come up again to a level-headed state. Once we're caught, we're caught.
As I sit here writing this, I find myself replaying, over and over and over, some uncomfortable events that have happened to me in the past couple days. As my consciousness is sucked into the cyclical black hole of these thoughts, I'm reminded how futile it is. I'm questioning the value of what I'm engaged in here.
If you think long and hard about why you keep replaying uncomfortable situations, it's hard to come up with a good answer. There's really no benefit.
There's a reason why the thoughts are happening, and why our consciousness is pulled in with such force, but there's no benefit whatsoever. If you know of any benefit, please comment below and let me know.
I want you and I to realize that we can break this habit. But the first step is noticing that it's even happening.
Since starting this post, my mind has gone back to these uncomfortable events several times. That's okay. It'll do that. It's been doing that for as long as I can remember.
But I don't have to follow it. There's actually a choice involved. That's what free will is.
You and I have a choice on where we want to direct our attention. Do we want to get sucked into our thoughts? Our emotions? Our past? Our future? Or do we want to be involved in the present moment?
Why is it that the hardest thing to focus on is literally the one thing that is true, the one thing that's real - reality. And everything else - our past (be it 10 years or 10 minutes ago), our future, our talkative mind, i.e. everything that isn't reality - are in fact the only things we focus on.
Pretty strange, isn't it? When you think about it, it doesn't seem so productive.
I invite you to start noticing how you're holding onto uncomfortable moments. See how many times throughout your day you can catch yourself replaying something that already happened. Make it a game. You don't have to do anything with the moments. Just notice how frequently your mind takes you, the consciousness, to those places, while pulling you away from the very things in front of you.
Then question the benefit. Maybe you'll start to realize there's a way out.
Live with substance!
Gabe Orlowitz
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