tumult

Attaching to the fluctuations of thought and feeling creates the persistent tumultuousness we experience throughout our lives.

Something happens that produces thoughts/a story which makes us feel certain emotions when the thoughts cross our mind later. In that moment, we're continuing to act in the present while being mentally preoccupied and emotionally influenced by a narrative that our mind has concocted and projected across our consciousness (which is based entirely on past interpretations of events). Throughout this process, the thought/feeling state is spilling out onto whatever is happening in the present moment. Our clarity and effectiveness are compromised immensely as everything is coloured by experiences/interpretations of the past. The past seems to repeat itself as life seems to consistently unfold in ways which induce the same thoughts and feelings in us over and over again.

The way to become free of it is to see the foolishness of this process over and over again. The moment we find ourselves activated, recognizing that we're caught in a projected story playing across our mind, and stepping out of it. Letting it go by without attaching to it, without hooking our attention and emotional state to it. Placing our attention on the present moment instead, in all its fresh innocence. The past is not repeating anywhere except in our minds.