17 February 2021
When you’re troubled about something, it is natural to think that the trouble is on the outside of you. But actually, the trouble is an inner problem. But too often, we try to rearrange our outer circumstance to manage what’s essentially an inward problem! The trapped mind, one riddled with troublesome thoughts, will look for an escape route through change in the outer reality. But too often the problem doesn’t exist on the outer reality. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when you need to escape from a bad circumstance. It’s important to know when your mind is actually being the troublemaker, particularly when your outer reality cannot be controlled.
The mind too often gets entangled with incidental circumstance, and it prompts you to make an “outer” change – a new job, a new partner, a new location, etc. But so often, the real escape route, so to speak, is inward. Exposing thoughts and feelings, knowing their harmless nature, and understanding their roots helps you dissolve the pain that they seem to cause. But in order to heal, you have to delve inwardly. Watch and observe how the pangs of suffering melt away when you stop focusing so obsessively about your outer, life’s situation. What’s often surprising to people, is that when they turn inward, they begin to see improvement in their outer life. This seems to happen without much effort, only because they’ve begun to see the follies of the trouble-making mind. It’s like a child who realizes that a temper tantrum gets them nowhere – they calm down and accept what’s unchangeable. Calming the turbulent mind, and making peace with what you cannot change ironically and naturally leads to a better, outer reality. But the escape route begins with an inward curiosity about what you’re doing to add to your own suffering. Take a new route today, and look inwardly at the root cause of your internal strife!