Mental Notes

The other day I received a message from a friend of mine saying that she was going through a rough patch but what was keeping her afloat was a couple of videos I had put on YouTube of a concert we had done together. She said that every time things would go downhill, she would click on the videos and remember the great moments she experienced that day and most importantly, the spirit and beauty we all shared.

I often do the same. I know that life is made of ups and downs. We all experience moments that are very comfortable and other times just as painful. But I believe that it is exactly this contrast that makes life so extraordinary. If everything were always a bed of roses, it would probably be so very boring!

Life is everything – good and bad, pretty and ugly, dark and light, comfortable and painful, young and old, etc.. We often want to avoid the "bad" at all costs. We fight it. Sometimes we pretend it is not there. But it has been my experience that the more we struggle with it and reject it, the stronger and more powerful it becomes.

Far from me from saying that we should indulge in pain. That is masochism. But the belief that life is only worth living when it is all comfortable – that is delusional and unproductive. When we accept everything – including the bad and the ugly – we open ourselves to learning, growing, expanding and truly living life fully.

What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger!

The trick is how to maneuver through this rollercoaster. Buddhist philosophy says that the idea is to not waste time judging the moment as either good or bad, but instead, experience them as they are, without any need to place a label on them. That sounds great, but sometimes things seem to get so bad that I think we need some "help."

That's when mental notes come to the rescue!

Every time I have a soothing, uplifting experience (or thought, moment, day, exchange, embrace, etc.), I try to make a mental note of that and save it in this little "treasure box" I carry inside of me. I have a collection of them. When things get bad to the point I feel I'm drowning, I go back there and begin to remember those moments, ideas, etc..

Like those video clips are for my friend, I have trips I made, pictures, childhood moments, words of encouragement, milestones I reached, insights I had, hugs I received, people I met, music I heard, paintings I've seen and many more wonders that I can easily tap into them to get a boost of energy. Most importantly, I have insights, pieces of truth and wisdom I learned. I don't use them as escape. That would be denying and pretending that the pain is not there. Instead, I use them as a reminder that there is something bigger and wider then just this moment, that life is broader and more generous then a single experience and that like everything else, this too shall pass.