Struggling.

We are all struggling.  Struggling to find our balance.  Struggling with our health and our work.  Struggling to discover our purpose or passion.

We try to resolve this struggle, to figure it out and to find the right answer.  We think that if we can fix this situation then everything will be fine.  We will be happy and feel content. 

So we fix our relationships.  Our work.  We try to find a new social circle, a new hobby and a different story.  We search and we find and we fix. 

Except with all the fixing we have been doing over the years we still find ourselves in the same situation.  Strange isn't it? 

Strange that we keep trying to fix the outer condition of things.  We keep trying to fix our situation and our surroundings.

What if we stopped investing all that time and energy in applying a fix?  What if instead of trying to blame the outer condition of things we look at our own minds?  What is it about our habits, our neurosis, our negative emotions that contributes to our struggles? 

The path ahead is not going to be easy, but if we are honest with ourselves we will realize that shifting the blame and never brought us any closer to the goal. 

Time to take responsibility for our struggles.  We don't need to fix the whole world in order to fulfill our aims, we simply need to train our mind.  The weight of the world rests on this task. 

Reaching for straws.

The mind loves to find something to do.  It craves something to do.

Work.
Workout.
Read.
Surf.
Walk.
Sleep.
Peruse.
Google.
Check email.
Check FB.
Check Instagram.
Check.
Check.

The mind is naturally unsettled.  It is constantly movin' and a shakin'.

When you sit, you notice just how unsettled your mind really is.  The mind resists, it tries to do anything it can to get away, to continue churning and doing and feeling like it is accomplishing something.

This is why meditation is difficult.  We see directly just how dissatisfied and discontent we really are.  We see with our own eyes how unsettled and restless we are.

How do you resist?

You maintain your discipline with mindfulness and vigilance.