.:. a meditation .:.
You cannot
stop the waves.
But you can learn you are not the waves.
A young man once came to an old sage by the sea,
his mind loud with things he did not choose.
the young man
Teach me how to stop my negative thoughts.
the sage
You cannot stop the waves.
the young man
Then how will I ever find peace?
the sage
By learning you are not the waves.
the young man
But my mind says terrible things about me — and they feel true.
the sage
Nightmares feel true while you sleep. Feeling real is not being real.
the young man
Then why do I believe every one of them?
the sage
Because you greet each thought as if it were a fact.
the young man
So how do I stop believing?
the sage
Stop arguing. A thought you fight is a thought you feed.
the young man
But they always come back.
the sage
Let them. Don't fight it. Don't follow it. Don't fear it. Just notice.
the young man
It's working… my mind is finally quiet.
the sage
No. You have simply stopped taking orders from the noise.
A Practice
Don't fight it.
Don't follow it.
Don't fear it.
Just notice.
.:.