Thought is distraction Memory is a good thing It lets us go back home from work It lets us remember our addresses It’s meant for survival It’s meant for skills But like all things that have been taken out of proportion That have been used for other unnecessary activities Memory has also been used unwisely And given too much strength So much so that Now memory is where we live at Our address has become that permanently Being present to the present has become the new unusual routine It’s either the phone Or the TV Or memory That’s our new distraction Our new source of dopamine We linger in thoughts all the time While eating While talking While listening to others who are talking to our face Looking into our eyes Even while having showers Memory has become our place of existence Especially when driving As if that was meant to be our place of meditation And when we indulge in such activities routinely What consequences we bring to ourselves!! And yet we won’t let it go from us It seems to have such a hold on us It’s holding us captive Imprisoned to a cave Inside of us So much so that Now we have to recite to ourselves Mantras such as “Be here now!” In order to remind ourselves To attend to the present moment fully Without having running background movies Memory ain’t a bad thing Thoughts and memories have their place Just like anything indulged in too much Anything given more attention Anything allowed to become an obsession Lingering in memories Thoughts about the past And worries about the future All belong to a place and time Such as when we set aside time to linger in them As in meditation Where thoughts are allowed to flow into us On their own And stay with us but a moment Until they dissolve themselves Never to come back again Let us give thoughts Only so much strength And not uproot us From fully paying attention To the present moment Being present in the present is important Don’t let memory Or thought Take you away From existing Surviving And enjoying Every moment Of today Think about this Peace ✌🏽
The piece feels like someone quietly admitting how exhausting it is to live everywhere except in one’s own life. It captures the ache of noticing that memory once a simple tool has become a place we hide without meaning to. The way it describes drifting through meals, conversations, showers feels painfully familiar, like watching ourselves from a distance. There is something deeply human in the image of being trapped inside our own thoughts, as if the mind had become a room with no windows. The text names the loneliness of being physically present but mentally elsewhere. Its honesty about distraction screens, worries, inner movies feels like a mirror held gently, without judgment. The reminder that we now need mantras just to return to ourselves is both tender and heartbreaking. The piece doesn’t blame thought; it simply asks us to stop letting it steal the moments that make a life. It invites us back into breath, into sensation, into the fragile now. In the end, it feels like a soft voice saying: come back your life is waiting for you here.
The piece feels like someone quietly admitting how exhausting it is to live everywhere except in one’s own life. It captures the ache of noticing that memory once a simple tool has become a place we hide without meaning to. The way it describes drifting through meals, conversations, showers feels painfully familiar, like watching ourselves from a distance. There is something deeply human in the image of being trapped inside our own thoughts, as if the mind had become a room with no windows. The text names the loneliness of being physically present but mentally elsewhere. Its honesty about distraction screens, worries, inner movies feels like a mirror held gently, without judgment. The reminder that we now need mantras just to return to ourselves is both tender and heartbreaking. The piece doesn’t blame thought; it simply asks us to stop letting it steal the moments that make a life. It invites us back into breath, into sensation, into the fragile now. In the end, it feels like a soft voice saying: come back your life is waiting for you here.
Thank you Adriao!
this one snuck up on me and then sat down next to me...
memory being for directions, not for living in full-time — oof, yes. like it’s meant to get us home, not be the house.
i like that you don’t yell at thought, you just tell it where the chair is. useful, but not running the room.
also calling out driving as accidental meditation made me laugh because… true and terrifying.
gentle nudge, not a lecture. needed that...
Lovely Asuka! Thank you once again for taking it apart and telling me how it mattered! ❤️