Mindfulness Moment
I saw these signs hung at the DOX museum for contemporary art (read this left to right – not all were hung that way but the one I took a photo of had it in this kind of ‘reverse’ order):
I like them, as it reminds us of something most important: just having a particular thought doesn’t make one a ‘bad person’. Or make one anything, really. It’s just a thought.
And we thought about all sorts of stuff, don’t we? But they’re just thoughts, thoughts that are almost always shouted out by our calculating selves, and therefore concerned only with the narrow focus of things that the calculating self always gets all uppity about.
Things and thoughts that often can be quite nasty, or harsh, or callous, or cruel, or any manner of ways that do not match the desires of our authentic selves.
Which can be quite disconcerting! We might ask, “Where did that come from?” Leading to, “If I am having these thoughts, do I believe this? Is this who I am?”
To which: No. It’s not us, it’s just that little voice in our head. It’s just the calculating self on loudspeaker. So we can thought it, and we can even think it.* But it’s who we choose to be and how we choose to act that speaks of and to our character.
And as such, thoughting or thinking about touching art is total fine. Just keep it there, in your thoughts, while keeping your hands by your side as you drink in the art before you.
… oh, also, as a bonus, it’s probably a productive thing to get those concerns of whether certain thoughts make us a ‘bad person’! Because if we have the concern, we are at least mindful of that voice and of those impetuses and impulses and are able to recognize that they don’t relate to who we are and who we want to be. Being worried about being a jerk (or worse) is a good step to choosing paths that will avoid being that.
* Inside of the distinction between true thinking and not just thoughting. We can think about all sorts of things, and it’s likely good to do so, to play in the mental sandbox and choose that which is authentic and productive and empowers and enlivens and supports us and those around us.
