Train Of Thought

I was meditating this morning and got to thinking about my back pain. I work out 7 days a week/ 365 days a year. Well its been 10 days since I blew out my back, and I have not worked out since. I have missed my morning work out maybe 7 days in the past 10 years. This morning, I started to feel a little sorry for myself. It took all of about 2 seconds to realize that my wife {with her 5 surgeries} has not been able to walk without a cane in 2 years, let alone workout or run. She was a big runner. Logging in miles everyday. I know she misses it, but she deals with it. 

Why do we lock in on a bad thought, and then immediately go to another? Then another. Train of thought can be a dangerous thing. Luckily for me, this morning I never let the train leave the station. A lifetime of meditation keeps me from becoming derailed. Oh, it happens. But it happens very rarely, and I am able to get back on track pretty quickly. 

"Gratitude makes the coldest night, somehow bearable."

Maybe its the years of doing crisis work that taught me appreciation for the simple things. Maybe its because I have already lost so much, that I have become desensitized to troubling times. And yet, maybe it because meditation has trained me to ignore the train....of thought. Whatever the reason may be, there is great power in gratitude. Gratitude makes the coldest night, somehow bearable. The deepest pit, somehow climbable. And the deepest pain, survivable. 

Buddha said "Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your unguarded thoughts." I believe that the majority of us allow the train to leave the station. And when it leaves, often there is no fixed destination. No preparation or planning leads to being lost. While getting lost can be a freeing process. Being lost for many causes panic. That's why it is important not to allow your train{of thought}to leave the station without proper preparation. Take time to get your mind right. Put on some music, pray or meditate. Whatever helps you set the tone for the day or course for the train, do it! It often takes one small thought to quickly grow into a unrealistic scenario. 

Train your thoughts. Or they will train you.