by Nathan Chua
Happiness, contentment, gratitude, a look on the bright side. These are just some of the terms that we throw around a lot like an old ad slogan, but find eternally elusive.
I remember a former philosophy professor write this on the board once, “Humans are insatiable beings.” I have pondered on this truth for so long but have long wondered what the reason for this is. I am now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my long search for an explanation. Maybe science has found the answer, the behavioral sciences that is.
As far as this area of study is concerned, the culprit is really our human minds. Don’t get me wrong. I am not here to say how stupid our minds can get. In reality, our minds are wonderful! Without them we would not be where we are now as a species. We’d be subject to what other species experience on a daily basis that we can only imagine in movies which depict our prehistoric existence.
Pardon my writing nowadays as I adjust to talking more like a scientist than before when humanistic language came very easily to me. So help me out here, I am struggling trying to get a more scientific message across. Nonetheless, it is my hope that my blog remains as inspiring to you as it is for me to write my thoughts and share them with you, my visitors and subscribers.
I digress!
So here’s what our minds are very good at doing. Our minds are judgmental machines. They can churn out all kinds of criticisms anytime, anywhere. You can try this at home. Pick any object in your room wherever you may be (you can even be at a friend’s house, but just do this quietly in your head for your sake and your friendship’s!). Now try to see everything that’s wrong with it. Go ahead, try it. When you’re done, do it twice more on two different objects you see in the room.
If you’re like most everyone else, you would probably notice that your mind can really do a great job of this. It gets better as you move from one object to another. Do you see now what I am driving at? That’s your friend Mind’s forte!
Ever noticed how some of the most successful, famous, and wildly attractive people in the world can’t seem to get to a point where they can say, “Hey, this is great! I am happy where I am at!” You would have probably noticed that in yourself too. Look back about five years ago and think of the things you have now that you wished you had then. Remember how unsatisfied you were with what you had and where you were at? If you have been losing some stuff you used to enjoy, then it becomes all the more easier to let your mind go and tell you how much more stuff you still need.
That in a nutshell is what our minds do. It’s natural and it also is the secret to why humans dominate the earth. So don’t worry or don’t fret if you feel like a selfish person for thinking that you don’t have enough. It is your mind, mind you, that’s doing it for you. It thinks it is doing you a service by keeping you thinking about what you could be missing or what could go wrong when you’re missing what you’re missing.
But what you can learn here that your mind cannot get, is that you are a human being that is capable of noticing what your mind is doing. All those judgmental critical thoughts of who you are and what you’ve accomplished are just part of the deal of being a human with a brain. The key here is to know when it’s happening and make a pivot or shift towards what life has to offer in the moment. For this moment is all we really have. Neither can we change the past nor control our future. It is this moment that we can change and we can control!
It is that mode of mind that tells you you are watching the sun go down, and you look with wonder and surprise at how wonderful it can be. You know, that sunset mode of mind, like the title of this blogpost? I betcha you can’t appreciate the sunset and do the exercise we just did in this post! I don’t think so! For who wants to see the sunset and figure out what’s wrong with it? Not me, and I guess neither do you.
And guess what, science has come full circle to an old eastern tradition of being mindful. The answer was found in the future, in the form of science that has gone to the past to find the answer!
Mindfulness gets us into that sunset mode of mind…everyday! Do it while you’re brushing your teeth or walking around your neighborhood…and see how great it is to be alive just by being more present, more conscious, and more aware!
Until the next (more scientific) blogpost. See ya!