🌈 1263 – Thursday, 5 September 2024 23:21

London

It’s unbelievable how much time I’ve been spending online, especially on social media. You start by watching one video; before you know it, you’re scrolling to the next. A funny clip grabs your attention, followed by a creepy AI-generated horror video that looks disturbingly real. By the time you check the clock, 40 minutes have flown by, and the work you sat down to do remains untouched. Now, after sitting for far too long, it’s almost time to head to bed, and nothing productive yet!

When the mind encounters something pleasant or unpleasant, it perceives things simply as they are, without attaching suffering to the experience. If you feel sadness without craving for it to disappear, the sadness remains, but you do not suffer from it—in fact, there can be a depth and richness to that sadness. Similarly, if you experience joy without clinging to it, wishing it would last longer or grow more intense, you can continue to feel joy while maintaining your peace of mind. But how do we train the mind to accept things as they are? To embrace sadness as sadness, joy as joy, and pain as pain, without craving or resistance?

Train the mind to focus on the question, “What am I experiencing now?” instead of “What would I rather be experiencing?” Suffering comes from craving—whether it’s craving sweets, sex, or endless scrolling through social media. True freedom from suffering is found in freedom from craving, and the only way to achieve that is by training the mind to experience reality exactly as it is, without the need for anything more.

It’s 00:19 now. I woke up early today and hit the gym for a solid morning workout—dumbbell shoulder presses, pull-ups, flat bench presses, and lateral raises. After a refreshing shower, I headed to work feeling sharp. The day went smoothly, filled with productive meetings and deep, meaningful conversations with a few colleagues.

It’s been raining most of the day here in London. For lunch, I treated myself to a fancy steak, and the afternoon flowed smoothly with more meetings. I managed to log off on time, got home, and rested for a while before heading out for another indulgent meal. Yet, no matter how much I try to satisfy this feeling, nothing feels complete without you… without you!

3 things I felt grateful for today

• I’m grateful for the short walk from home to work through St. James’s Park—just a few minutes, but it’s always beautiful, with birds along the way.

• Grateful for this morning’s workout—quick but incredibly efficient, leaving me energized.

• And grateful for the weather today. Even though it rained, I had my umbrella, and a simple jumper kept me perfectly comfortable.

What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10 x times bigger,thicker, more energetic, confident, happy, healthy, wealthy, wake up early, make it workout in the morning, work day to go cool, everything to be fine with family, friends and everyone around, and then also have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing yet a productive day tomorrow?

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Goodnight, good luck!

Ash Khaleem