Only Disconnect

“The world is too much with us.” That was said by a famous poet two hundred years ago. You can imagine what he’d say now.

The world is in our pocket; the world is in our hand. We’re always connected with people outside. It’s good to get away from all that, to disconnect for a while, so that you can be by yourself, to get to know yourself in a way that doesn’t have to take into consideration what other people will think or what other people would know.

You’ve got to ask yourself: “Is there any way that I’m contributing to unnecessary stress in my life, unnecessary pain? Is there some way I can stop?” This is what the meditation is for, to look into your mind, to see what you’re doing, be very clear about what you’re doing, and seeing where you’re adding unnecessary stress and pain and how you can stop.

When the world is with us, it’s pretty heavy in a lot of ways. When it’s already heavy, why add more burdens on top of yourself?—by the way you think, by the way you talk, by the way you act. It’s good to get away and see yourself clearly, get to know yourself.

This is why the Buddha realized that if he was going to find true happiness, he would have to leave home, go into the wilderness, just to be able to get to know his mind really well, and not just in line with what other people had told him.

In primitive societies they would have what’s called a rite of passage, where before you became an adult you’d go out into the wilderness, just be away from everybody for a while. Then you would get to know what’s coming up in your own mind, independent of what other people want.

So when you have this opportunity to be quiet here, to be secluded here, take advantage of it, appreciate it. It’s a form of wealth. Most people can’t afford to take time off. But the fact that you can afford it means that you’re wealthy in things that matter. So make the most of it. Give the mind an anchor here with the breath, so that you can see the mind in the present moment. Then you can deal with whatever comes up that you see right here.