The monkey and the security guard

Most people understand that excessive worry about life circumstances (money, safety, opportunity) is not healthful or particularly helpful. But the monkey mind, which seems to have its own agenda, worries anyway. Even armed with the most expert-recommended mindfulness activities, it’s easy to feel powerless to stop it.

Two things to remember:

First, the monkey mind doesn’t like mindfulness activities. They severely limit its monkeying. So it’s very likely that your doubts about these practices are a reflection of their effectiveness rather than their ineffectiveness.

Second, the practice of mindfulness can be tedious at first, but it doesn’t continue that way. Here’s what happens in my experience: Once you engage effectively in your favorite mindfulness activity (conscious breathing, meditation, Forest Bathing, the Linger Method) in a sustained way for long enough (at least several minutes), a soft energy fills the space inside you once occupied by incessant thought / worry.

That energy becomes like an anti-worry security guard. She works for you so you don’t have to work that hard. She doesn’t conquer worry, but she keeps it out for a time while you enjoy your loved ones, build things, create something, or discover a suitable work-around to one of life’s worrisome situations.

If you continue to pay her (gently revisit that mindfulness practice) regularly, she can keep that monkey out for quite some time.