"I have realized that thoughts - the inner stuff that flows downstream with us - matter. They matter because, unless we are careful, they sweep away our true selves." (Mary Margaret Funk Into the Depths: "A Journey of Loss and Vocation")
Each day as we arise we begin the process of making choices. What will we wear. What we will eat. Where we will go. What we will do. What we will buy.
One of the most important decisions we will make is what we will think. Meg Funk nails it when she says that "thoughts matter". (Also evidenced by her book of the same title.) We can be literally swept away by our thoughts.
So what are we to do about the multitude of thoughts that plague us?
Meg Funk offers this sage wisdom from the same book quoted above: "When I watch these feelings arise, and try to do so without inner commentary, most of them simply dissolve and go away."
As a patient and caregiver both G and I are in the battle of thoughts. With downright scary procedures looming ahead for him, we both face challenges in paying attention to our thoughts. It is a constant process.
Just Google the "number of thoughts per day" and you will get a range from 15000 - 50,000. Even on the low side at 15,000 it is still a very large number of thoughts for a 24 hour period.
It is impossible to just shut off our minds. But we can pay attention and notice our thoughts and refuse to make a full feature length film about them.
grace and peace...
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