Part-time Optimism

“Is this a satisfying thought?”

Reading an article this morning in the Wall Street Journal about part-time optimism (since full-time hope and cheerfulness is just too hard, the writer claimed), this one line caught my attention. What a wonderful question, I thought to myself. What a quintessentially Buddhist question. And once I thought about it, the piece, which at first didn't seem to go beyond the usual pop psychology advice, on closer inspection was popularizing methods the Buddha had long talked about.

Take the first technique: create a "positive channel" in your mind that you can dial into when you're feeling down. This channel would be populated with pleasant images, like a laugh-filled lunch with a friend or a cuddling session with your child. This method is not unlike the one the Buddha describes in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta, where he suggests replacing an unskillful sign (thought) with a skillful one. If you're starting to feel like the world is going to the dogs, changing your mental channel will at least give you a bit of space and perspective. The trick, of course, is to not use this as suppression or denial, but simply as a mental stepping stone from which to do deeper work.

The quote above is by a photographer in California who schedules prompts to pop up on his phone throughout the day. But it's reminiscent of the second method the Buddha describes and which involves reflecting on the danger of our unskillful thoughts. Self-doubt, judgment, envy, anger, excessive desire: these are all mental formations—as Buddhism calls them—that can quickly derail us if left unchecked. To stop a train of thought in its tracks with a question equivalent to "Where am I going?" is not only skillful but can potentially be life changing. It's not easy to stop a train, of course, but it's also remarkable how effective a simple question like "Is this satisfying?" can be in the service of doing just that.

A third option is to ignore the thought—to simply not give it room to take hold in our minds. The WSJ article spoke of this as "surrounding yourself with the positive." The feeds you scroll through, the people you hang out with, the activities you do each day all shape your outlook and your experience of the world. Once again, this doesn't mean ignoring that the world is burning. It does mean not emptying a mental can of gasoline on a situation that's already challenging enough.

The fourth option—and I acknowledge that I'm stretching the parallels here a bit—involves retracing our mental steps to get to the root of a thought. The article suggested imagining a brighter future and writing a letter to yourself from that future self. One encourages you to unearth your unacknowledged motivations; the other moves forward into the future to create a better present. Not quite the same thing, but perhaps they both evince similar results.

Finally, the fifth option, which in Buddhism pulls out all the stops, is "crushing mind with mind." If loving, coaxing, or inspiring yourself to come out of your doldrums have failed, then you read yourself the riot act. I think of this as the "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Zuisei!" line. Let's face it, sometimes being nice is not enough. We need to be snapped awake, and this is what this last technique does. The WSJ article wrapped it up nicely with another quote: "You have to aggressively look for hope in the world.”

Optimism is hard work, the article acknowledged. The same goes for staying real. That's why it's not enough to think positively. We have to do something, and from a Buddhist perspective, this is called practice. We do what we have to do to be and stay awake.

 

If you benefit from my writing and teaching, please
consider becoming a Patron. Even small one-time or recurring
gifts make it possible for me to devote more time to this work.
Thank you, always, for your support.

*Frame photo: Amal George.


ZAZEN
Our weekly hour-long sit include individual teaching and, on Saturdays, a short chanting service. Everyone is welcome to join. If you'd like to sit for a shorter period, you're welcome to join later (just register in advance). For questions about the evening or the teaching procedure, feel free to email me. And if you're new to Zen and need meditation instruction, contact me so we can schedule it in advance.

THIS WEEK
• Daily Zazen. Monday - Friday 5:30 – 7:30 am EDT. Join our daily Zazen Streak. Sit informally for 10 minutes a day or as long as you wish. Details in the linked document.
• Wednesday Evening Zazen and Talk. Wednesdays  7 – 9 pm EDT. An hour of zazen and one-on-one teaching followed by a talk or study.
• Saturday Morning Zazen and One-on-one Teaching.  Saturdays, 9 am – 10:15 am EDT.

ONGOING
• One-on-One Teaching. I offer weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly one-on-one sessions. You can also become a Patron to have access to discounted monthly sessions.
• Dharma Talks.  You can listen to past or current dharma talks on my website or wherever you get your podcasts. Videos of some talks are also available on my website and YouTube.