Who is Driving This Train?

What is going on right in this moment?  Listen to the sounds around you.  Feel the chair you are sitting in.  Scan the room and take notice of the things around you.  Is the light on?  Is the light off?  Are there any smells in the air?  Now, take note of what you noticed.  What color is the wall?  The answer should be a color.  Plain and simple.  Most times, observations are accompanied by a judgment.  "The wall is brown" (truth).  "I am tired of this color" (judgment).  "Maybe I should paint in here?" (judgment).  "This room and the brown walls remind me of this, or remind me of that..." (judgment, judgment).  You get the picture.

We cannot help but have preferences and opinions.  Thoughts are not a bad thing, quite the opposite actually!  Our wonderful, beautiful thoughts that illicit good feelings lead us to positive experiences; however, negative thoughts that go unchecked can lead us down a path that does not serve our well-being.  We would not consciously choose to stay on a run away train to worry, self-hatred, self-criticism, anger or regret.  We are in charge of our thoughts.  We are driving this train.  Do not allow yourself to get on that run away train in the first place.  With some practice becoming aware of our thoughts, we can choose what thoughts we actually want to spend time with.  We do not have to let our thoughts dictate our moods; we control what we decide to think about. 

Staying in the NOW means staying in the moment.  Staying with what is going on at this moment, and not allowing yourself to get lost in things that are not even happening right now is how we can be in charge and not get lost in thoughts that do not serve us.  Why spend time worrying, obsessing, dreading? Thinking about what happened before?  Wondering what will happen?  It is all not happening NOW.  Now, this does not mean that it is not ok for us to plan, to learn from previous experiences, to contemplate future decisions, etc.  What it does mean is we need to be aware of when we have allowed our thoughts to lead us onto that runaway train, and then take back control of the ride!