“Part of the magic of the experience lay in the sheer beauty of the setting: the breathtaking sight of the high mountains, the sweep of the sky, the panorama of the great valley. The beauty drives you out of the self for a moment – so that for this time, the self is not.”
Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity
Beyond the Quote (55/365)
This is (at least in strong part) why we are so drawn to beautiful destinations. The sheer beauty of the settings that we travel to pull us out of ourselves—and for that time, the self is not. It’s an incredible escape that is so cherished because our “monkey minds” drive us crazy. I’m sure you might be able to relate. You know the feeling of being unsettled, restless, confused, indecisive? That’s the monkey mind. It’s our inner critic and the part of our mind that is most connected to the ego. The monkey mind insists on being heard, is relentlessly talkative, is constantly pointing to all of our flaws and mistakes, and contends to keep us distracted from doing any kind of deep work all of the time. It’s exhausting and it’s what makes us want a vacation so damn bad.
We want to get away, not so that we can get away per se, but so that we can get away from our self—our ego. Pulling ourselves out of our own mind is hard, but going to a destination that is beautiful and majestic makes it easy—at least for a few moments. And it’s amazing what even a few moments of relief can do for a person, eh? It’s like a fresh restart for a computer—it only takes a moment and when it’s done it works as good as new for hours and hours on end again.
But what if, instead of suffering with our monkey minds for the vast majority of our years (and only looking forward to a few short moments of relief during our two weeks of vacation time), we took the harder route and learned to deal with the monkey mind right here, right now? What if we learned how to pull ourselves out of the thoughts of the past, out of the thoughts of the future, out from the death grips of the ego, and learned to be without the self in the moments we have every day? How much better might day to day life be?
My guess is that you might not feel like you need a vacation as much anymore. One expression that has always stuck with me ever since I heard it was, “Wherever you go, there you are.” In today’s world, escaping to a beautiful destination is easier now than ever before. In sharp contrast however, in today’s world, escaping to a beautiful state of mind is harder now than ever before. And if you aren’t able to pull yourself out of the monkey mind and into a beautiful state, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the destination is, it will only last for a moment or two. It will act more like a band-aid than a solution because when you’re done—there you are. So, what even is a beautiful state and how can we get into it more often?
The most beautiful state I can think of is the state when you are wholly present—when your mind isn’t being attacked from thoughts of the past, when there are no anxieties about the future, when there are no egotistical judgements about the self or others, and when the senses are wide open to the world in immediate proximity. What you’ll find is that the only thing left is love. How could it not be? Think about where all other states of mind come from—thoughts from the past that upset you, worries about the future that grip you, self-defeating and comparative thoughts that come from the ego, and a disconnect from what is right in front of you. When you learn how to really boil down your whole “life situation” to life in the present moment, you’ll find yourself entering a more beautiful state every time.
And now for the hard part. How do we get there? How do we quiet the damn monkey mind, drop the past and future, learn how to stop judging ourselves and others, and connect to our senses in full? There are probably as many different paths to a beautiful state as there are people on this earth. The technique that is most predominantly used however, as the tool that will help you walk your path, can be boiled down to one main option: meditation. Meditation IS the practice of quieting the monkey mind. Meditation isn’t just one strategy, however.
As I mentioned, there are as many different paths to a beautiful state as there are people on earth. Meaning, meditation doesn’t have to manifest as legs crossed, on a cushion, eyes closed, trying to let thoughts go. For some this works. But for others, meditation might be better guided (a teacher guides you through basic steps of practice), or with a specific type of technique in mind (mantra, focused attention, body scan, noting, visualization, etc), or through movement (walking, yoga, sports play, etc). In the beginning, this sucks.
The best way to get better? Practice. Experiment. Play. Pay attention. And like anything else, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. Practice every day because if you don’t, it’ll take longer and will be harder. And with discipline? Maybe you’ll be able to move from a few moments of a beautiful state, to a few minutes, to even a few hours? Who knows, maybe your whole life will turn into a vacation and the beauty of the world will be forever evident no matter where you are? And what a beautiful outcome that would be.
Read Next: 13 Pico Iyer Quotes from The Art of Stillness to Inspire Your Next Trip to… Nowhere?
Don't Let the Motivation Stop There...!
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