Enlightenment

Get really quiet. Turn off your phone. Get away from your computer and your television. Go someplace by yourself. Keep away from your journal. Stop thinking. Don’t ask for help, don’t even talk to anyone. Stop listening to the platitudes, the affirmations, the well-worn clichés, the stories in your head that came from your parents or teachers. Just keep getting quieter. Stop worrying about the bills or your weight or what others think. Get quieter. Yes, those thoughts will come. Acknowledge them. You will wonder why the to-do list gets longer instead of shorter. You will wonder why you even have a to-do list. Laugh at the thoughts. They are not you. Those things you have heard so much, things you hear without words, quit listening. Get quieter. Stop feeling any feelings. Acknowledge them and let them go. Feelings are not facts. They will not help you. The clichés will not help you. Only the quiet will help you. Breathe, but do not count your breaths. Do not think at all. Get as quiet as you can. You may get a few seconds of nothing and then your mind will say “I had a few seconds of nothing.” Stop. Get quieter. Practice until you have a few more seconds, a minute. Practice. Always. You will never attain enlightenment, you will have moments. Practice being quiet and those moments will come. Those moments will sustain you. Enlightenment is not a place, it is a practice. Every day. Get quiet. Live.