WATCHING THE TRAIN

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Today I would like to watch the “train of thoughts” pass by. It’s true that thoughts will be passing through all day, much like an endless freight train, and what I want to do is stand by the tracks, or perhaps on a hill above the tracks, and simply observe the cars as they pass. Like watching a train back in Webster Groves when I was a kid, watching my “train of thoughts” could be an absorbing process. When a defensive, self-protective thought comes by, I might say, “Gosh, look at that strange-looking thought!” or, when a happy thought passes, “How did that beautiful thought get made?”, or, when an ugly, scary-looking boxcar thought rumbles by, “That is one hideous old thought!” The trick is to just observe the train, but not jump aboard. So often in my life I forget about observing my thoughts and instead, I jump onto a thought, close the door, and ride with it as it careens across the countryside. Fearful thoughts have taken me on many a wild ride over the years, as have thoughts of envy, anger, defensiveness, and countless others. Today I refuse to get on the train. It’s much more fun, and far less dangerous, to merely sit on a hillside and watch with fascination as the endless train of thoughts roll by.