Useless thoughts
They never really sleep
At night they lurk behind curtains,
ensconce themselves in bushes
and creep under rocks and stones
then they greet you upon waking like unwelcome guests
Their onslaught is then ceaseless as they come and go
like rush hour crowds in busy subway stations
They’re cunning like foxes
and always find a way to sneak in
like the neighbor’s cat on a blistering hot day
when you can’t close the windows
The Buddha said our minds are like drunken monkeys
jumping around, squealing and gibbering non-stop
« I’ll never make it til the end of the month»
« Maybe I should just have another drink »
« I really messed up at that meeting yesterday»
« I wonder if I’m being taken for granted»
« What am I going to wear to that dinner tonight»…
They’re relentless, endless, like cascades
Sadhus counsel the practice of Sadhana
and they do seem to back off
during those minutes of breath connection
but they then return like swarms of locusts
when you stop being and resume doing
It’s part of the human plight one would say
Some boldly assert that they think therefore they are
but I’d rather say I am where futile thinking is not