This Wed morning, whilst swimming by my mother's home in Greece a pretty large turtle popped its head a few meters away.
My son and I had spotted it 10 days ago and tried following it unsuccessfully. This time we remembered to play it cool, not look at it directly nor swim towards it. The turtle swam around and below us pecking at the rocks. At times we even had eye contact. I'm not sure if it intentionally remained near us, but we spent a good twenty minutes in each others' company.
It's interesting how sometimes when I want something, I have to play it cool and not be overly eager. This is the same with nagging thoughts. Wanting them to go away, trying hard to make them go away, can be counterproductive.
However if I un-fixate or become impartial to the outcome, there is an increased chance that they will dissolve or at least soften their charge. 'Un-wanting' something however is quite tricky as I cannot pretend or fake it to myself. With mindfulness practice I can work with attention and/or attitude. 'Attention' away from it, 'attitude' towards it with something less clingy like curiosity, kindness or equanimity.
Author: JD
Image by Olivier Dappel-Voisin from Pixabay
Write a comment