The Commentator of Life
Have you ever thought to yourself something like, “My life would be so much more entertaining if it was narrated like a good story.” What if I told you, that you already have a narrator talking about everything going on in your life, past, present, or future? That narrator is your mind.
The mind is the commentator, the narrator, the story teller, that which assigns meaning to the activities and circumstances of your life. The reason we often do not find this entertaining, is because we start to believe that we are that voice. This belief is all the more reinforced, when we cannot turn it off, or make it tell a better story than the only one it knows. All of this, is no longer a problem, as soon as one realizes that which they truly are, in their essence, is something deeper than the mind.
All that it takes for the commentator to become a source of amusement and entertainment, rather than a source of suffering, is to take charge of the story. When the mind tells a story which causes suffering, one can simply raise their awareness of the present moment, stilling the mind. Then, from the place of awareness, rewrite the story. Do this, over and over, until the mind learns how to tell a good story. Awareness is the solution to any problem of suffering. Life will always have pain in it at times, but suffering is optional.
If you had the choice, between a mind that inflicts suffering upon you, and upon others, or, a mind that serves your true nature, and reflects your true values and intentions, which would you choose? Given the answer you just gave, make that choice for yourself. Know also that you do have the choice. If there is not enough awareness to do this yet, one could simply choose to raise their awareness. There are many ways to do this, and many have spoken and written of these.
It is the human condition that we all have a body, a mind, and a soul. There is no sense in resisting this fact since it will not change regardless. Instead, accept that we each have all three. The soul, the awareness, the presence, is that which we truly are, at a deeper level. Above this, and atop it, so to speak, there is also a body and a mind. When we, the soul, the presence, take responsibility for the good care of our bodies and minds, we are richly rewarded with the full depth of experience that life has to offer. When we hide from our true nature, and become overly identified with the body or the mind, we suffer.
If most of what was said above sounds like meaningless gibberish to you, that is okay. Just a few short years ago, it would have sounded like meaningless gibberish to me too. If you are interested in learning more about this subject, feel free to look into a spiritual path of your choosing. There is no one right way to come to realize all of this, nor is there one right set of language to describe it. If you do not know where to start, feel free to check the resources page on this website, under the spirituality topic. I have included a few of my favorites there.
In closing, it is helpful to realize that if you put 5 different people into the same set of circumstances, there will be 5 different sets of meaning, or 5 different interpretations, or 5 different stories, which will result from that experience. It is within our power to chose which story we tell, or believe, with regards to our own lives. No one can take that from you. I hope that these words inspire you to write a better story for your own life, and find the happiness that follows from that.
