Thoughts On Thoughts

There are many reasons why people write. For some, it’s their job. For others, it’s just fun.

For me, it’s many things. It’s a way to communicate. It’s a vehicle to advocate. It’s a way to share my life experiences. Maybe it’s a way for me to help someone in some small way. But mostly, it’s therapeutic.

For most people, the idea of writing for therapy is a foreign idea. But have you ever felt like your mind is full of noise and static? Just attempting to make a simple decision can sometimes be a challenge because your own mind literally gets in the way.

This common struggle is often referred to as your monkey mind.

The origin of the monkey mind concept comes from Buddhist teachings. In Buddhism, the term is used to illustrate the difficulties of maintaining mental discipline and achieving a state of calm and focus. Our restless, unfocused minds are essentially compared to a monkey, jumping from thought to thought and screaming without pause.

When our minds are in monkey mode, we’re living in a state of distraction, uncontrollable thought patterns, and a lack of clarity. The monkey is essentially swinging from branch to branch without settling down. This mental chatter and incessant, unfocused activity in our heads can make it difficult to concentrate or simply be present. For me personally, the monkey likes to show up at bedtime, and this really sucks.

In our modern lives, the monkey mind is a common experience due to the constant barrage of information, notifications, stress, and demands on our attention. Understanding and just being aware of this reality can help us explore and adopt practices that quiet the damn beasts.

There are many ways to quiet your mind. Meditation is one popular way, and I can personally say that it works at times. However, many times, just being still doesn’t work for me, so I have no other choice but to move in some other productive way. Walking and exercising are certainly excellent ways to quiet the mind.

The practice of writing and actually exploring my thoughts is another.

Writing forces me to slow down and really clarify what’s going on in my head. It’s hard to achieve clarity when your monkey is throwing shit at the walls and spiraling down into oblivion. When this happens, I try to find time to write down my thoughts, even if it’s messy, and this helps me sort through it all and start to make sense of things.

I’ve never been to therapy. But therapists often suggest daily journaling because it can reveal patterns and triggers that aren’t obvious at first. Having a written record also allows you to track your progress over time. It can help to be reminded of important thoughts or conclusions that may have gradually slipped from memory. I’ve never had a great memory, and as I get older, it’s not getting any better. So having a written record for myself has been valuable.

Beyond the therapeutic benefits, writing down my thoughts and advice will hopefully be a gift for others. It’s not my intention to sound arrogant. Just imagine your great-grandchild reading your essays or journal and learning about your experiences, your challenges, your beliefs, and your successes. It’s a way to pass down advice and stories that might otherwise be lost. Imagine someone you don’t know stumbling across an essay that feels relatable and offers insight they can use to improve their life or work. Imagine standing for what you believe in and actually inspiring someone to shift their perspective.

For me, writing has been both therapeutic and rewarding. It’s a form of self-care that doesn’t require much more than a computer keyboard. It’s also a vehicle to make a small, positive mark on the world – even if my words just give someone a laugh.

If you’re interested in giving it a try, the good news is that you don’t have to be a professional writer to benefit from it. You also don’t have to publish anything or even tell anyone. Just getting your thoughts out of your head and onto the page can be incredibly freeing. You simply do it for you.

I’ve personally elected to publish some of my thoughts here on my website. Not because I think that I have anything figured out. When it comes down to it, I’m no philosopher, and in the grand scheme of things, I’m just a person with opinions based on my own personal life and experiences.

So in the end, take it all for what it’s worth. But, for me personally, I think it’s worth a lot.