Becoming The Observer (9 minutes)

The human mind is busy producing thousands of thoughts a day. The thoughts themselves are not a problem, it’s more how we relate to them. Many times, a thought takes us on a journey. A journey away from the present. Back to the past, we drift down the stream of remembering, finding ourselves replaying an argument with someone or a conversation where we wish we’d said something different. Or we move into the future, planning our next vacation or what we want to say in an upcoming meeting with our boss. Without realizing it, we’re time traveling, far, far away from the present. Somewhat aimlessly, our mind is flitting about. And often, we’re on autopilot. Not actually living fully in the moment we’re in. Not here in the present.

From the stance of the observer, we can develop a healthy degree of detachment from our thought processes. We may be able to see things much more clearly, and we can then decide how best to respond. We see that we have a choice. We can go on the journey to the past or future, or we can remain focused on what we’re doing, here in the present. Once we develop this habit of becoming the observer, we develop much more autonomy over our experience. It’s this autonomy that helps us become resilient