Clear-Headed Living:
solutions for noisy spacetimes
Practice the attitude of gratitude.
Practicing gratitude is a technique used for millenia to focus the mind on peace and happiness. We humans have a thinking mind that is partially decoupled from our immediate environment: we are able to mentally travel from the present moment to distant memories, likely futures, or far-flung imaginative scenarios; then back to the present moment. Therefore when situations seem unhappy, when something unwanted happens in life, we can mitigate the sense of unhappiness by focusing attention to those things which are good and true. If you have lost someone, this is especially difficult. But you were given a gift of their presence for a time, even if it was shorter than you desire. And we can be grateful for that sublime, temporary presence. It is like a morning glory flower with an exquisite bloom that lasts for only a day.
This is an extraordinarily old method of using our uniquely human capabilities of thought to mentally travel away from a moment, through our own mind and reasoning, then back to a healthier rendition of the present moment. Almost two thousand years ago, Epictetus noted that it is not events themselves that make us miserable, but our interpretation of them. When we practice the attitude of gratitude, we make the conscious effort to shape our perceptions toward wholeness. In this way we create a habit of happiness.
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