I came across a quote in one of the on-line Dharma sites, “We should pay close attention to how we talk to ourselves.” How true this is. Dharma teachings always refer to body, speech, and mind as our instruments for expressing our clarity or delusion. Paying attention to our thoughts, closely, is part of our everyday practice of precepts. How we think conditions the tales we tell of our world. They make up the narrative. And these narratives are what we base our speech and actions on. Dwelling continually on wrongs done to us carries the wrongs onward whether or not they are in fact continuing. We always have the choice to carry a mind of appreciation and understanding into our current circumstances, which is necessary for repair and reconciliation. Given the state of so many hostilities in this country and the world, awareness of how we talk to ourselves is a vital skill we all need to cultivate in order to wake up and bring about a more wise and peaceable collective life.
