I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk

by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad

when my sadness or anxiety or loneliness became overwhelming, I could choose to focus on my breathing, let my awareness rest in my body, and not unquestioningly believe all the thoughts my brain threw at me.

Nothing lasts. Not even the difficult times.

Directing our attention, choosing what we aim it at, is the best and possibly the only thing we can do when things get really hard.

We don’t choose our thoughts. We don’t control the shape they take. Possibly, we can encourage some more than others, allow them more or less room. But we can’t control what pops into our minds. We can only choose whether or not to believe it.