Note to Self: Take A Hike.

Greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, doubt, restlessness, worry...all of these defilements found their way into my mind this morning, some strong and brief, some dull yet lingering. "Is this who I am?" I thought. "I'm better than this. Plus I have good reasons to be feeling this way! I don't care if I know it's wrong, I...I...I!"

Good thing I remembered that an hour hiking alone in the woods can work wonders to encourage mindfulness, and dispel "mood possession," as my friend Peter refers to it - as in 'This is my mood, it's all I've got, and I'm not letting go!'



With mindfulness present, it becomes possible to directly observe impermanence: everything which has a nature to arise, also has a nature to pass away. By observing impermanence, we can see that clinging to temporary conditions complicates the challenge of responding to change. This is true for the good stuff as well as the bad. Once we are no longer grasping at the impossible, we are available to do the real work at hand.