Mind

 What is mind? Where does it reside? Is it merely the maze of the cells and neurons in the skull? Is the mind the source of emotions? Or is it the heart? Where do thoughts originate? And the soul? How to locate it? Questions galore and answers a mess of lore! 

Indeed is the mind merely a physiological concept? Is it born at the time of birth? Do we acquire it the Locke-Skinner way, emerging on a tabula rasa via habits enforced? Or do we arrive equipped with a contraption that we can work on?

Well, such infinite questionnaires can never precisely exhaust that complex called mind, that mystery inside a riddle which is wrapped within an enigma! Is it mind that distinguishes the homo sapiens from animals? Well, i do not really think so.

Anyways, this complex vortex called mind is indeed muddled now. Yes, such such are the times now that the human mind is under constant stress, worries harry it, unknown phobias dare it, so on and so forth. 

How, and from whom,  do we learn a little to make this confused fable absolutely stable? From the yogis who would tell us to control our breath? From the psychiatrists who drown us in therapies and tablets? From the social media kinda punditry which tells us to laugh away our woes, etc, etc, etc?

I think our real guru's can be the animals around us whom we consider mindless, and hence inferior to us, but whose tiny and short lives, in my opinion,  are full of real lessons that can tremendously teach us to make our minds healthy and wise. 

Let me give you a few examples. How about learning love, kindness, honesty and dedication from our pet dog? Treat him any which way, ignore him thoughtlessly;  he never ever would waver in his devotion to you. In fact, he would guess your low moods, would just come and snuggle up to you, would distract you with its sweet goofiness. In fact, your dog cares for you as much as your parents do. Tell yourself honestly if you yourself care that much for your siblings.

Have you ever seen an ant? Compared to its tiny size, we are Himalayan in proportion.  Yet it can teach us thousand fundas about life. Is it ever lazy? listless? Tired? Bored? It carries comfortably, though obviously with terrific efforts, a food item at least fifty times more its own weight or size.

Such is its survival strategy. Put an obstacle in its way. Surely it would work a way out, skirting around it, climbing over it, and what have you. It would never wail nor wait. 

It is never selfish nor self-obsessed either. It cares for its entire family. It works for the welfare of the entire community. The assigned duty it does perfectly without a grumble or grumpiness,  and manages to inform and warn others of the ilk of any approaching danger.

 And here we are, million times bigger in size in comparison with that tiny creature whom we carelessly crush under our gargantuan toes, but eternally we are grumbling, grieving, grudging.  And we call ourselves brainy, and that tiny wholesomeness mindless! 

And the spider? We find it yucky, wipe out its fabulously woven ingenious web the moment we locate it. Very patiently it weaves it back, equally beautifully, and gossamer thin yet real strong. Have you ever seen in your garden a cobweb, drenched with the lashing rains, yet shining bright in the morning glory? 

How difficult their lives, too, must be! And full of innumerable dangers and threats! Have you ever seen them eternally cribbing, unhappy, depressed, and sad? And we call ourselves evolved!

Yes, it is but obvious and normal to feel unhappy when traumas, small and big, assail us. But when we have every possible support system, beginning with our own reserves of untapped energies and strengths  to the endless, rock solid support of our near and dear ones, how long should we keep on fussing, and coddling ourselves? 

Time we learn to be mindful from the nature that surrounds us! A tree mercilessly cut, truncated, blooms anew with a tiny sprout, ready yet again to weather every storm and enjoy every ray of sunshine. Let our minds learn such joyful lessons of a survival, fittest and finest!

Pratima@ Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is to come/Today train your mind to grow wholesome!