Dear LPG

I have been thinking…

As we age, many of us have a habit of looking back at life and seeing it in a much more negative way if we are not careful. I have heard it said that one reason for all that negative thinking is that we have too much time to think.  

Perhaps I, too, have too much time to think. I got thinking about thinking the other day, and with the help of the internet, I found myself asking a few questions on the subject. 

Thinking comes in a lot of guises.  My personal experience often leaves me with many different aspects of emotional residue that can follow me all day.  I don’t think I am the only one who, all too often, finds themselves worried, confused, nostalgic, sad, grateful and with many other outlooks on big chunks of each of their days based on a bit of thought indulgence.   We all do a lot of it if we have the time, and in general, we oldies have a lot more than most, so overdoing it is not always good for us. 

The first query has to be, ‘Is it possible to think about nothing?’. 

And, while there are so many schools of thought regarding the answer to that one on the internet, the consensus is; ‘our brains are always on the go’.  I used to do martial arts when I was a lot younger, and at the beginning and end of each session, we would have a few minutes of meditation.  We would sit cross-legged (which is getting harder for me to do these days) and try our best to think of nothing.  I believe that is when I did my research on the subject, and I think that during all our waking hours, we can’t help it.  I defy anyone not to have some thought on the go all the time.  Even when sleeping, our minds are preoccupied with dreaming even if we don’t remember them. 

When we are younger, we are racing around, overworked and usually unable to keep up with the lives we have chosen, and even when we look at the younger people around us today, nothing has changed.  They have more electronic time-saving gadgets to play with but, like us when we were young, only have time to fit some things in.   As we get older, we tend to stop keeping as busy as we once were, and it is also often the case that we spend a lot more time alone.  That translates into us usually having a lot more time with nothing to do but think our lives away, and it seems to be a lot easier to think negative than positive thoughts…  

Perhaps the answer is to practice thinking about as little as possible, or at least we all need to do our best to think happy thoughts. 

It has been a while since I put on my Karate Gi and assumed the position, but perhaps a bit of relaxing thought could really help bring some calmness, peace, and order to life. 

I have found an online tutorial for beginners, and getting back into relaxing my brain in that way has been an exercise that I can highly recommend. I know that nothing works for everyone, but I suggest that all those people who know that they are experts in overthinking to the point where it gets them down give it a go (although I strongly recommend swapping the cross-legged sat-on-the-floor posture for a nice, comfy chair) … 

VM, Surrey

VM shares her tutorial…

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… and a few other meditational thoughts…

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