Take out the trash

We all want to succeed, we want to be successful, comfortable, loved and secure. We want what is best, after all anything less than that could not be considered living 100%. But how do we wish to go beyond where we are or see and experience more when the mind we have to experience is already overwhelmed? Being overwhelmed means conflict within, you cannot stand where you are feel complete or whole while you fight externally with the world or internally with yourself ( which is really the same thing)



Whenever we have a chance to see what is before us we usually don't like it so we contend with it, fighting the reality we see. We blame others for our feelings, victimize ourselves and live emotionally not intelligently. These random thoughts are mental debris, clouding our insight and understanding and stopping us from seeing what truly is. It can stop us from seeing ourselves, our responsibilities, our actions and the impact it has on the world around us. To quote one author, " It's time to take out the trash."



Trying to sweep the mind clean (for any length of time) is not a realistic strategy. After all, we don’t have spam filters in our brains — all kinds of thought-stuff passes through our awareness in the same way bubbles rise up in a hot springs. It’s an ordinary discharge of random noise.



In telling someone “take out the trash,” they are being advised to change their attitudes by accepting their thoughts and feelings while taking positive action. Changing our attitude means changing our behavior. (How can anyone know we’ve changed our attitude unless our behavior changes?)



If you want to quiet your mind, get a good night’s sleep. Because along with periods of more active sleep — dreaming — we also spend time in deep, dreamless sleep where the brain rests from our random discharge. A similar state of “timelessness” (or no awareness of time passing) happens in deep meditation.



Although we cannot, and need, not try to manipulate or “clear” our random thoughts, we may benefit from noticing the perceptual filters through which we see and hear our world. The Serbian proverb, “Two men looked out of prison bars; one saw mud and the other saw stars” reminds us that both mud and stars exist, but some of us obsess about the mud, while others of us put more attention in counting our blessings and focusing on the stars.




In telling someone to, “Take out the trash!” we call and individual to notice the bigger picture. This advise isn’t just about cleaning toilets or emptying the mind; it was about behaving with kindness and courage. Training the body. Breathing deeply. Relaxing more.



And when it needed doing, taking out the trash.