"Of external facts we have had enough...but of the inner facts - of what goes on at the centre where the forces of our fate first announce themselves - we are still pretty much in ignorance."
-William Barrett

Did you mind the crazy driver who drove past you in a frenzy while you were avoiding a humongous pothole?

Did you mind your spouse for making a fuss over leaving the TV on as you dozed off to sleep?

Did you mind the idiot waiter who completely forgot about your order as your stomach growled with hunger and then temper?

Did you mind people for being so self-indulgent that they did not take the time to indulge in you when you need them?

Did you mind the slack attitude of one of your colleagues?

Did you mind your dog for not cleaning up after his poo?

Did you mind a complete stranger for staring at you?

Did you mind everything that did not go the way you intended it to be?

Did you mind the day your mind became your nightmare?

People cut queues, and stand too close spraying life-retarding B.O. straight into your nostrils. And then, there are salespeople attempting to catch your attention when all you want is to head home and drop a big load in the toilet. While these are petty compared to the hardship people in war-laden countries are exposed to daily, we have this tendency to mind that can make living unnecessarily hellish.

We get flustered, lose our cool, get mad and destroy the moods of people who matter to us. And the cycle repeats as we proceed to blame others for making our life a giant ball of dissatisfaction. I know it's easy to point your finger and blame certain events, people, the weather and whatever while wearing a forlorn look of hopeless despair on your face. It's easy to say that negativity came to be because so-and-so did this, my parents were monsters, the university's dean was an ass-hat, etc. I get it. It's nice to vent.

But when venting becomes the only way for you to catch a break, then you have become a whining machine. You start perceiving things in a manner that only seeks to further drag you down deep within the murky depths of disheartenment.

For a while, in my life, I admit that I lived a proud life misery, unaware of elements that'd controlled me like a puppet. Drowning in a self-made pool of sorrow, blaming everyone and my own self for being less than perfect, I thought the only way out was extinction. When the hole I dug up was too deep and tormentingly dark, the only logical way to feel okay again was to climb back up. And out into the cliched light.

Reality dawned on me only with time. Life did not burst out singing because I mildly decided to have at it. It was not interested in my every decisions. It was indifferent. Heck, I could mind it to death, the sun would keep on shining, the garbage would not carry itself out.


So sometimes, I mind things to the point that it sours the mood of my day. Realizing that no one's in the way of my own peace except for myself, I learn to drop my idealistic expectations and appreciate whatever that comes and deal with crap without turning into one. And it is an ongoing journey to this day.

So yes, we as humans are free to mind the hell of a lot of things. But does it solve anything? No. It is juice for aimless attention-seeking chit-chatting, blogging and twittering and facebooking and well you know, what I'm saying. If you want your life to become a plate of poo, keep minding everything from today onwards. You will become physically and mentally ill, in no time.

I'm not suggesting that you stop feeling any emotions. Just watch them as they surface. Trace the roots of them. You may learn something worth knowing about yourself. Get answers as to why you are the way you are, without spending a dime on anger management therapy.

Scrunch your face, fake a gag reflex, offer a deodorant, but B.O. passes, once the stench-carrier leaves the room. Just like stinkin' emotions.

Image Credit:
Emotional Consciousness by Elmarie Lategan
Saltimbanque by Paul Ruiz
Tranquility by Stephanie Clair