Quiet Your Mind & Just Observe..

Why is the mind always so active?  Why doesn't it ever just shut up?  I mean even when I'm sleeping, my mind manages to stay incredibly active constantly dreaming the most insane things.  This morning I did the sitting still exercise they gave us at Philosophy Works.  I'm supposed to do it twice a day until I go back to class next week.  So, for those 2 minutes that I sat still, it was amazing to see how my mind really did quiet down completely.  With just a little effort to focus on my breath, the weight of my body in the chair, the play of air on my face & hands…it all just totally captured my attention and calmed me, calmed my mind. 

As soon as I came out of this focus, it was as if a switch was turned back on instantly, and my mind started up again at warp speed.  A list of all the things I had to do today was racing through my mind and suddenly everything was moving fast again.  I wonder if the more I practice the exercise, the more things will just slow down a bit in my mind.  I guess we shall see.

So I was on the subway yesterday (aren't I always?), and I decided I'd put the "What Would A Wise Person Do In This Situation?" phrase to the test.  I was standing in front of a woman who was seated.  I kept my eye on her, because she had all the signs of someone who was clearly about to get up at the next stop:  she was fidgety, looking toward the door as the train was pulling in to the station, slightly leaning forward from her seat about to spring forward out of it.  At the same time, she was doing something interesting with her newspaper.  Actually, it was that she didn't know what to do with her newspaper.  She took it and wedged it on the seat between her and the person sitting next to her.  Then she got up and watched it slide into the spot where she'd been sitting.  Not satisfied with where it landed, she reached for it and slid it further to the center of the seat.  She didn't like that either, and so then pushed it into the corner.  Still not happy, she finally reached for it again, this time sliding it under the seat and onto the floor below.  Done. 

I watched in silence.  "What Would A Wise Person Do In This Situation?"  A wise person, I thought, would definitely give her a dirty look.  A wise person would call her out on it, embarrass her so that she'd do the right thing and take her paper with her and throw it in the trash.  A wise person would screw with her and hand her the paper & say "I think you dropped this."  But I did none of that.  Instead, I shook my head and judged her inwardly as I watched her exit the train.  I took a seat in the now empty seat she & her paper left behind.  Then I thought to myself, a wise person might realize that this woman has many layers to her and is not only the person I just witnessed.  A wise person would see that clearly this woman was unsure & nervous about what to do with her paper: Maybe leave it on the seat so the next person could have the benefit of reading it…a nice gesture indeed.  On second thought, she may have thought the next person may not want it, and instead may just want a seat to sit in….and decision #2 came into her mind to get rid of the paper to make room.  Perhaps in her flurry of nervous thoughts to make a quick decision, thought #3 — to trash the paper in the trash — never had time to enter her mind.  A wise person would recognize that she went through a similar thought process before ultimately doing what appeared to be simply & completely thoughtless and rude.  A wise person would not judge this person or situation, but merely observe it all.