the object

"Even though the bewildered mind is untrained, it is already meditating whether we know it or not. ...Whatever we're doing...we're always placing our mind on one object or another. For example, ...[often] the object of our meditation is 'me.'"

--Turning the Mind Into an Ally
Sakyong Mipham

Today I noticed that my usual object of contemplation—the one that continues all day long, whenever I'm not making an effort to do something different—is either "I know" or "I'm right."

This was distressing, because, even though the lovely Loopy seems to be under the delusion that I can be stubborn and myopic as hell, I like to think of myself as such an open-minded, kind-hearted, generous-spirited person.

But I noticed that as I walked along idly thinking about various things—first about a dear friend who is stuck in depression and anxiety, then about teaching and some useful strategies in the classroom—that all this was a meditation on "I know" and "I'm right."

As in, I know exactly what my friend should do to feel better and when I get a chance I'm going to tell him, and I'm right about teaching and what the hell is wrong with all those other racist idiots who think they're teachers?

*sigh* They said this might happen—that when we start to try to see things clearly, we might start to see ourselves clearly and maybe we wouldn't like that so much.

They also gave us an antidote: loving kindness. The more we can accept our failings with loving kindness, the more we can do the same for other people.

I'm working on it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

For those of you with zero interest in all this introspection, I've decided to provide more Flickr photos (other people's that is) for your entertainment. Sometimes they'll be relevant to the post, sometimes not. YMMV. Enjoy.