Do You Have Insects in Your Mind?

The problems of our mind are like insects. One insect is annoying, two insects are more annoying. Three or more and you're being harassed. It's a cool analogy but the important thing to note is that insects are outside of us, while our mind is inside us.

The Pants Problem

How is our mind like insects? Well it has to do with our pet peeves, or our judgments of the world. For instance, suppose I have a pair of pants. For whatever reason those pants are mine and for whatever reason I have no choice but to wear those pants today. Maybe my other pads are all dirty or getting repaired. Whatever the case, I have to wear those pants today. Now I can wear those pants and think about everything else that I have to attend to, or I can wear those pants and think about how much I dislike them. I can think about how much I dislike them a little bit and then log it up into the upper recess of my mind. Then that thought is sitting there nagging at me quietly. I don't pay much attention to it but it still taking away my emotional energy because I'm dissatisfied.

This is the Insect

Now that thought is rather like an insect that keeps on coming back coming back coming back and making me annoyed. It takes my energy away. One of the things that we rarely think about is that that annoyance is caused by us. We think it's caused by the pants.

Enter Self Righteousness

They're not good pants. I am justified and right in being annoyed by them. When you step back and look at it with a broader perspective, it's ridiculous. The pants are doing nothing at all. They are neutral. They are just objects. Our annoyance is a choice. We could choose to let go of that annoyance. Just drop it. Or we can give it a home and feed it and make that annoyance get bigger. Usually we do the latter because it makes us feel self-righteous. It makes us feel like we're suffering, which makes us feel important. It's a rather stupid choice because it takes away from our happiness.

Be Right or Be Happy

But this goes back to that old idea many people would rather be right than be happy. And we can convince ourselves that we're right very very easily. In fact it's much easier to convince yourself that you're right than it is to stop, step back and look at the whole situation from a broader perspective. You could say we are almost compelled to think that we're right and take this stance of self-righteousness.

Not Just The Pants

These pet peeves extend out into all areas of our life. Not just pants. It could be any dissatisfaction we have. The next time you're feeling dissatisfied with some situation, take a few moments to try and work on letting go. And then revisit that letting go several times over the next few days or weeks because frankly that's what it's going to take. You will gradually get lighter as you pick off the insects one by one.