Just Un-Do It: This is Gonna Be a Disaster!

Tsunami? No, but not "The Eddie" either, North Shore, Oahu, HI, February 2016,
Nikon D600 with FX 28-300mm VR lens,122mm, 1/640 sec @ f13, ISO 320, -0.67 EV, no flash © Steven Crisp

There is an instinctual tendency of your mind to do “disaster planning”. Have you noticed it? It doesn’t matter if you are in a stressful or emergency situation — it will happen anytime.

For example, I might be on vacation, sitting on a patio overlooking the ocean. Waves breaking the reef, sun glistening on the water, clouds floating by quietly overhead. A more tranquil setting would be hard to find.

And then *boom*, I notice my mind (on its own) has gone into disaster planning mode. What if a giant tsunami followed one of those waves. I’d see the water rush away from the coast back into the sea. Would I recognize it is an impending tsunami? If so, how fast could I react? Where are my escape routes? Would I climb on the roof of this building, or seek higher ground?

And in those moments, I am no longer “aware” of the tranquil setting that is my current reality, and instead have defaulted to disaster planning. I can feel my chest tighten, my heartbeat increase, my skin start to tingle.

Now if I decided, consciously, that this was a good time to rehearse such a scenario — fine. That would be a deliberate and conscious plan to become prepared. But that’s not what is going on. It is operating in the background, taking me out of the present moment, and disturbing my inner peace and tranquility.

Evolution “thinks” this is fine — “it” only cares about my survival and the ability to pass on my genes …. my “raison d’etre.” But personally, I’m more interested in my peace and tranquility at this point in my life — my two children now take over the role of gene transporters.

So what is my point? Only this: you can and should gain control over your mind. This is what "Mindfulness” is all about. Use your thinking, rationale mind, as a tool, but keep it under your control. If you stop and settle your mind for a few minutes every morning, you will notice you do not have that control as default. That capability must be developed and strengthened just like any muscle exercise. But it can be done.

And if you want to be Mindful, in each moment, with full awareness and acceptance of whatever situation you are in, this is something you should pursue.

Oh yeah, and speaking of being Mindful: