Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

Addiction #22 – Freedom from THINKING
“I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.” ~ Steven Wright
We human beings are thinking machines. The adult human brain holds over 100 billion
neurons (an amount roughly equivalent to the number of stars in our galaxy), and it has
been estimated that roughly 70,000 thoughts a day race along those neural pathways at
speeds of over two hundred miles per hour. As such, our heads are literally filled with
thoughts …
And this is not really a bad thing. After all, on a primitive level, it is thought that allows
us to “choose wisely” and thereby effectively navigate a an ever-changing world; a world
that frequently exposes us to “dangers” and confronts us “enemies”. And on a more
“evolved” level, it is thought that allows us to pause in any given moment and appreciate
the Beauty of our surroundings — it is thought that allows us to Care for others ahead of
ourselves – it is thought that allows us to LOVE.
No, thought itself is not the problem. Rather, it is our addiction to “stinky thinking” that
harms us …
*Instead of calmly using conscious thought to choose a “good course of action”, we
choose to worry about not having enough information to make such decisions.
*Instead of calmly using conscious thought to be thankful for our lives, we choose to
critically analyze what is “wrong” with them.
*Instead of calmly using conscious thought to see the Good in others, we choose to
gossip about their faults.
*Instead of calmly using conscious thought to set aside our fears and simply reach out to
be Kind to strangers, we choose to be “cautious” (i.e. distanced & cold) around them.
*Instead of calmly using conscious thought to appreciate the spectacular wonders that
surround us, we choose to be “bored” by all things familiar or “normal”.
*Instead of choosing to be consciously aware of our feelings about a certain situation, we
get lost in ruminating about the sources of those feelings – what inspired them to
resurface in our present and/or who caused them in our past.
We somehow believe that if we can just “figure life out”, then we can control the
outcome of events. We somehow believe that if we can just “figure other people out”,
then we can keep ourselves from being hurt. And we somehow believe that if we can just
“figure ourselves out”, then we can be more successful, and therefore happier people.
Of course, most of you are already aware that this tactic simply doesn’t work …
It is literally impossible to think your way to a better life.
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