#417 Appreciating & Even Prioritizing QUALITY - Stillness & Silence

     How does it feel when we're about to do something that gives us a quick fix - like eating a chocolate bar (instead of a healthy snack) when we're hungry, or rushing a job to get it over & done with (instead of doing it with appropriate care)? Isn't there a building momentum to approach & complete the act, as if starting to descend from the highest point on a roller coaster, or as if pulled by a powerful magnet?
     When we're being self-centered, grasping for "short-term gains" - we're much like addicts reaching for their addictive substance of choice - big pull, brief elation, big let-down, and we're worse off, knowing we've just added to our own (plus likely our loved ones') "long-term pains".

     In contrast, how does it feel when we're about to do something that's not about us, but for the long-term benefit of others? When we're about to do the right thing? There's no momentum, no magnetic effect. We make wise, mature decisions from a place of stillness, a place of silence. We can feel this stillness.

     Isn't it sad that we become addicted to the "excitement" of brief highs, despite, & even because of their brevity, inevitability of crashing & other hangovers? Why does it take so long for us to let go of cheap thrills? We seem to have to gradually, intentionally learn to appreciate, and very slowly prioritize, peace & mature judgment.
     Quality is a very slowly acquired taste for most of us. Mindfulness practice is a direct way of increasing the pace of this critical - yet mysteriously avoided - experiential learning. Of course we still have prioritize this practice over our habitual momentum-driven distractions.

     See: http://www.johnlovas.com/2013/10/self-concepts-sense-of-momentum-or.html
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/10/uncomfortable-being-still.html