Mind Has No Clear direction

Person walking on a path now having to choose between 3 different directions in the road

Have you ever caught yourself watching your thoughts so closely that you suddenly see how unpredictable the mind can be? How it can spin you off in random directions that make no sense, with no real truth behind them? I’ve had that experience many times.

Last year, I was at my mom’s house and noticed a new hand soap in the basement bathroom. It smelled amazing. I learned that my niece’s boyfriend had given it to her as a gift. A few days later, I tried to buy the same soap for myself, only to discover it was no longer available.

Not long after, while exercising one morning, my mind started drifting back to that soap. A thought popped up, if I keep using it at mom’s there won’t be any left for my niece. Then came another, what if the next time I go over she’s put up a note saying not to use it. From there I thought I’d take a picture of that note and send it to my sister to show her what her daughter had done.

By the time I reached that fourth thought, I stopped in my tracks. None of what I was thinking made any sense. These thoughts were appearing out of nowhere, turning something as simple as a bottle of soap into an imaginary drama. The truth was clear: my niece had graciously placed her gift out for anyone to use. There was no note, no problem, no issue at all…just my mind creating a story that wasn’t real.

Looking back, I realized how valuable this example was. My thoughts felt so real in the moment, yet they weren’t true at all. The universe had handed me a small but powerful lesson…the mind has no clear direction…it will wander, invent, and dramatize unless we stay aware.

Of course we need our minds to live in this world  and many of our thoughts are useful and necessary to guide us forward. But others, like the ones about the soap, pull us into stories that don’t make sense and can even create unnecessary conflict in relationships.

That’s why awareness is so important. When we’re aware, we can tell the difference between what’s true and what isn’t. And when we follow our own truth, we’re guided back to peace within ourselves.

Wherever you are on your journey, may you discover what works for you…trust your truth…and find peace inside.