We know that if we overuse our minds by
working too much or chasing and worrying about things like money and social
status, we can become miserable. But that doesn’t mean that we should run to
the opposite end of the spectrum. If we stop thinking, working, and pursuing
needs, and spend the rest of our lives just floating along, looking at
everything with wonder, meditating, playing bongos, etc, then we will be unable
to obtain housing, medicine, food, or healthcare. We might avoid the stress of
fretting about money and social status, but we will be cold, hungry, and
possibly alone.
The idea of putting aside our thinking and
living a care-free life sounds nice, but it is not very practical. Even monks who
spend their lives meditating obtain clothing and food via some form of work,
whether it’s teaching or manual labor. They can’t simply sit alone in the
wilderness for years at a time.
The mind is a necessary tool for
functioning in this world, so we need to use it sometimes. Thinking helps with all our worldly chores such as working, driving, shopping, mowing the lawn,
etc. But at the same time we need to know when to not think. We need to relax at times, and to do this the mind needs to
relinquish control to the spirit, for spirit is what we ultimately are. The
mind is for doing; the spirit is for being. You don’t want your mind spinning
its gears when you’re lying on a beach in Jamaica.
Let
us not demonize things that we sometimes torture ourselves with. Money,
possessions, and social status are not bad; it is the frantic, desperate pursuit
of more than we need that causes suffering. This is why the art of balance is
so important: well-being is maximized by pursuing what we need but not overdoing
it.
