Richard threw back the covers that had conformed to his body through the night like a cloth form of shrink-wrap and swung his legs over the side of his bed. The coolness of the pumpkin pine hardwood floors was a pleasant relief for his feet. His feet were always warm and toasty in the morning. Almost hot. Sitting still on the edge of his bed for a couple of minutes each morning and allowing some of the warmth in his feet to dissipate had long ago become part of his morning wake-up routine.
When Richard finally stood up, his knees creaked and ached as his lungs pushed out a thrust of air that effectively forced an audible “Uggmph!” through his vocal cords. Richard walked across the hallway and into the upstairs bathroom. Richard leaned forward, gripping each side of the white porcelain sink, bringing his face closer to the mirror. “What in the ever-loving hell?!” Richard thought as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
His face had been transformed over the last seven years. He looked hard. The lines on his face had deepened, looking more like the furrowed ruts of a plowed field. His once thick, jet-black eyebrows now had a definite salt-and-pepper look. Dark hairs still made up most of his brows, but the white hairs were distributed evenly and had altered his appearance.
Richard was irked. He had no qualms about aging or that he no longer looked like the spry, youthful young man he had had for so many years. What bothered him the most was that he felt it happened much sooner than it had to. Seven years of Donald J. Trump and the chaos he brought to the world in 2016 had taken a toll on Richard. He had aged much faster because of Trump. He’d bet his 1966 Pontiac GTO show car on it.
Richard’s thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He returned to the bedroom where his phone had been charging overnight on the nightstand. “No..fuck it!” Richard said out loud. “I don’t have time for this shit right now!” He did an about-face and headed back to the bathroom.
“How did this happen? How did we get here? What in God’s name...what the fuck is happening to this country right now?!” Richard questioned the face in the mirror. The face in the mirror looked scared. That angered him.
Richard momentarily thought about slamming his big weather-worn fist into the mirror. He took a slow, deep breath through his nose instead, slowly exhaling through pursed lips. It felt good. “One more,” he thought. Richard stood there looking into the mirror as he breathed in nine more times in the same rhythmic and relaxing way.
After the last of those ten breaths that had felt so wonderful, Richard again placed his attention on his reflection in the mirror. The face in the mirror looked so different now. It looked so at ease. So loose and relaxed. It was as though those ten breaths had wiped at least five years off his face.
“Son of a bitch!” Richard shouted after he had taken off the T-shirt he had slept in. “That’s it!” He raced down the twelve steps that lead downstairs, rounding the corner at the bottom and heading straight to his small office desk. It wasn’t really an office. Richard couldn’t afford a house big enough to accommodate that. It was part of the living room with a desk, but Richard walked a little taller when he thought of it as his office.
As he sat down at the desk, he quickly flipped open a mostly new spiral notebook that he often used to jot down good ideas that had come to him. Richard knew what he was about to write was so much more than a good idea: it was a life-changing concept of how to use his mind that he had just discovered. Richard grabbed his blue ink Bic pen and began writing:
“Moments ago, I felt a wave of utter and complete elation wash through me. I’m still feeling it now. For months, I have struggled with a deep depression and anxiousness about what will become of this great country that I love so much and of what has already happened to this country.” “At first I thought it was just a flash in the pan. Some strange blip on the radar of politics that would eventually just fade away and would usher in a return to something mirroring the normalcy of before.”
His hand continued writing as fast as he could manage. “However, at some point, the realization that this was not temporary and that my country had been permanently changed in ways that would shape the rest of our lives...the fear set in. A dark melancholy was not far behind.”
“It had been that way for at least the past year and probably closer to two years. I emphasize the word ‘had,’ however. Moments ago, I discovered the equivalent of the keys to the kingdom of my mind and, thus, my emotions.” “My inner struggle had been fighting with all the energy I had left, trying desperately to push the fear and depressing thoughts and feelings out of my existence. The harder I fought, the deeper the depression settled in. I had it all wrong. I. Had. It. All. Wrong.”
“I mistakenly believed that to get back to my former high-energy and productive self, I had first to eliminate all of my sadness and fear. I was only making it worse. I now know what Einstein was speaking of when he said we can never solve a problem on the level at which it exists. I get it now!”
“I never had to do anything about my fear and sadness. The only thing I ever had to do was what I did unconsciously just a bit ago, and I was then fortunate enough to reflect on the process that had just occurred and see that it’s something I can do any time, any place, and for any reason.”
“As a human being, I can have thoughts ABOUT previous thoughts. I can also have feelings ABOUT previous feelings. When I do, the previous or lower-level thought or feeling just beneath the thought or feeling I have just had ABOUT it...is transformed. Something incredible and unbelievably magnificent changed inside of my mind and body.”
“In an instant, I had gone from despair and sadness to being angry ABOUT my despair and sadness. I was thinking and feeling from a higher level...and it transformed the thoughts and feelings beneath it.”
“Suddenly, it happened again. As I stood there, looking into that mirror, feeling angry...I started to breathe with intention. My body began to loosen, and my face began showing a look of being at ease. I had risen to yet another higher level. I was now having thoughts and feelings of being at ease ABOUT my anger! I say again...I was feeling at ease ABOUT my anger that I was having ABOUT the lowest level thoughts and feelings of sadness and despair.”
“I didn’t have to do a thing about my sadness and despair...or my anxiousness. I simply rose from that level where ‘the problem existed,’ as Einstein spoke of, to a level of thinking and feeling above it. I was no longer the sadness, despair, or anxiousness. I was now someone having thoughts and feelings ABOUT those thoughts and feelings. I then did it one more time and rose to yet another level.”
“Crazily, there is no limit to how many levels I can do that with. Yet, I’m seeing now...that used correctly, simply raising one or two levels and applying useful thoughts and feelings ABOUT less useful and resourceful thoughts and feelings...is more than enough to transform the thoughts and feelings below, where it all began.”
Richard put down his pen, closed his spiral notebook, and stared at the wall. He felt it coming. His eyes slowly welled up with moisture. His right eye was the first to give way, as a single tear of joy and relief trickled down his still pillow case creased cheek. He knew he had found true inner personal freedom.
This was not “positive thinking.” This was the understanding of the structure of meta-cognition. The ability to think about thought, feel about feelings...and to do so, to infinity, should we choose. Yet, because of the inner restructuring that occurs with intentional and targeted meta-cognition, a simple jump of one level or two can create an entirely new existence for the engaged person.
Richard would later discover that the thoughts and feelings of acceptance would almost be like a magical elixir—one he could use with almost any low-level thoughts and feelings. Grief sucks. Trying not to feel it makes it even worse. However, having thoughts and feelings of acceptance ABOUT your grief finds the grief almost instantly lightening and becoming a more manageable texture of darkness.
Then, having gratitude ABOUT your willingness to feel acceptance ABOUT your grief can take you to an even more manageable and comfortable realm. Can you almost always (If you wish to do so) feel acceptance ABOUT any low-level feeling you have? Yes. Can you almost always (If you wish to do so) have gratitude ABOUT your willingness to experience acceptance ABOUT the lower level “problem” thoughts and feelings? You certainly can.
Whether you are applying anger, acceptance, gratitude, joy, curiosity, humor, or any of the other thoughts and feelings you have available to think/feel ABOUT lower level “problem” thoughts and feelings, one thing is for sure: When you do so, with intention, you are demonstrating at least the beginning and mental and emotional mastery.
Richard, as you might imagine, not only became a more effective and helpful Democrat, but he also became a human being who enjoyed life to a much fuller extent and made the world around him a better place. The world needs more people like Richard.
When Richard finally stood up, his knees creaked and ached as his lungs pushed out a thrust of air that effectively forced an audible “Uggmph!” through his vocal cords. Richard walked across the hallway and into the upstairs bathroom. Richard leaned forward, gripping each side of the white porcelain sink, bringing his face closer to the mirror. “What in the ever-loving hell?!” Richard thought as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
His face had been transformed over the last seven years. He looked hard. The lines on his face had deepened, looking more like the furrowed ruts of a plowed field. His once thick, jet-black eyebrows now had a definite salt-and-pepper look. Dark hairs still made up most of his brows, but the white hairs were distributed evenly and had altered his appearance.
Richard was irked. He had no qualms about aging or that he no longer looked like the spry, youthful young man he had had for so many years. What bothered him the most was that he felt it happened much sooner than it had to. Seven years of Donald J. Trump and the chaos he brought to the world in 2016 had taken a toll on Richard. He had aged much faster because of Trump. He’d bet his 1966 Pontiac GTO show car on it.
Richard’s thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He returned to the bedroom where his phone had been charging overnight on the nightstand. “No..fuck it!” Richard said out loud. “I don’t have time for this shit right now!” He did an about-face and headed back to the bathroom.
“How did this happen? How did we get here? What in God’s name...what the fuck is happening to this country right now?!” Richard questioned the face in the mirror. The face in the mirror looked scared. That angered him.
Richard momentarily thought about slamming his big weather-worn fist into the mirror. He took a slow, deep breath through his nose instead, slowly exhaling through pursed lips. It felt good. “One more,” he thought. Richard stood there looking into the mirror as he breathed in nine more times in the same rhythmic and relaxing way.
After the last of those ten breaths that had felt so wonderful, Richard again placed his attention on his reflection in the mirror. The face in the mirror looked so different now. It looked so at ease. So loose and relaxed. It was as though those ten breaths had wiped at least five years off his face.
“Son of a bitch!” Richard shouted after he had taken off the T-shirt he had slept in. “That’s it!” He raced down the twelve steps that lead downstairs, rounding the corner at the bottom and heading straight to his small office desk. It wasn’t really an office. Richard couldn’t afford a house big enough to accommodate that. It was part of the living room with a desk, but Richard walked a little taller when he thought of it as his office.
As he sat down at the desk, he quickly flipped open a mostly new spiral notebook that he often used to jot down good ideas that had come to him. Richard knew what he was about to write was so much more than a good idea: it was a life-changing concept of how to use his mind that he had just discovered. Richard grabbed his blue ink Bic pen and began writing:
“Moments ago, I felt a wave of utter and complete elation wash through me. I’m still feeling it now. For months, I have struggled with a deep depression and anxiousness about what will become of this great country that I love so much and of what has already happened to this country.” “At first I thought it was just a flash in the pan. Some strange blip on the radar of politics that would eventually just fade away and would usher in a return to something mirroring the normalcy of before.”
His hand continued writing as fast as he could manage. “However, at some point, the realization that this was not temporary and that my country had been permanently changed in ways that would shape the rest of our lives...the fear set in. A dark melancholy was not far behind.”
“It had been that way for at least the past year and probably closer to two years. I emphasize the word ‘had,’ however. Moments ago, I discovered the equivalent of the keys to the kingdom of my mind and, thus, my emotions.” “My inner struggle had been fighting with all the energy I had left, trying desperately to push the fear and depressing thoughts and feelings out of my existence. The harder I fought, the deeper the depression settled in. I had it all wrong. I. Had. It. All. Wrong.”
“I mistakenly believed that to get back to my former high-energy and productive self, I had first to eliminate all of my sadness and fear. I was only making it worse. I now know what Einstein was speaking of when he said we can never solve a problem on the level at which it exists. I get it now!”
“I never had to do anything about my fear and sadness. The only thing I ever had to do was what I did unconsciously just a bit ago, and I was then fortunate enough to reflect on the process that had just occurred and see that it’s something I can do any time, any place, and for any reason.”
“As a human being, I can have thoughts ABOUT previous thoughts. I can also have feelings ABOUT previous feelings. When I do, the previous or lower-level thought or feeling just beneath the thought or feeling I have just had ABOUT it...is transformed. Something incredible and unbelievably magnificent changed inside of my mind and body.”
“In an instant, I had gone from despair and sadness to being angry ABOUT my despair and sadness. I was thinking and feeling from a higher level...and it transformed the thoughts and feelings beneath it.”
“Suddenly, it happened again. As I stood there, looking into that mirror, feeling angry...I started to breathe with intention. My body began to loosen, and my face began showing a look of being at ease. I had risen to yet another higher level. I was now having thoughts and feelings of being at ease ABOUT my anger! I say again...I was feeling at ease ABOUT my anger that I was having ABOUT the lowest level thoughts and feelings of sadness and despair.”
“I didn’t have to do a thing about my sadness and despair...or my anxiousness. I simply rose from that level where ‘the problem existed,’ as Einstein spoke of, to a level of thinking and feeling above it. I was no longer the sadness, despair, or anxiousness. I was now someone having thoughts and feelings ABOUT those thoughts and feelings. I then did it one more time and rose to yet another level.”
“Crazily, there is no limit to how many levels I can do that with. Yet, I’m seeing now...that used correctly, simply raising one or two levels and applying useful thoughts and feelings ABOUT less useful and resourceful thoughts and feelings...is more than enough to transform the thoughts and feelings below, where it all began.”
Richard put down his pen, closed his spiral notebook, and stared at the wall. He felt it coming. His eyes slowly welled up with moisture. His right eye was the first to give way, as a single tear of joy and relief trickled down his still pillow case creased cheek. He knew he had found true inner personal freedom.
This was not “positive thinking.” This was the understanding of the structure of meta-cognition. The ability to think about thought, feel about feelings...and to do so, to infinity, should we choose. Yet, because of the inner restructuring that occurs with intentional and targeted meta-cognition, a simple jump of one level or two can create an entirely new existence for the engaged person.
Richard would later discover that the thoughts and feelings of acceptance would almost be like a magical elixir—one he could use with almost any low-level thoughts and feelings. Grief sucks. Trying not to feel it makes it even worse. However, having thoughts and feelings of acceptance ABOUT your grief finds the grief almost instantly lightening and becoming a more manageable texture of darkness.
Then, having gratitude ABOUT your willingness to feel acceptance ABOUT your grief can take you to an even more manageable and comfortable realm. Can you almost always (If you wish to do so) feel acceptance ABOUT any low-level feeling you have? Yes. Can you almost always (If you wish to do so) have gratitude ABOUT your willingness to experience acceptance ABOUT the lower level “problem” thoughts and feelings? You certainly can.
Whether you are applying anger, acceptance, gratitude, joy, curiosity, humor, or any of the other thoughts and feelings you have available to think/feel ABOUT lower level “problem” thoughts and feelings, one thing is for sure: When you do so, with intention, you are demonstrating at least the beginning and mental and emotional mastery.
Richard, as you might imagine, not only became a more effective and helpful Democrat, but he also became a human being who enjoyed life to a much fuller extent and made the world around him a better place. The world needs more people like Richard.
*
Editorial note: Originally posted as a long string on Threads by Jack, now here for your reading pleasure. Feel free to bookmark and use this page as you will, Jack. It's all yours!
By Jack Hopkins (therealjackhopkins), for The Real Jack pages.
See Jack Hopkins on Threads following THIS LINK!
