My mind is looking for a problem to solve

My mind is looking for a problem to solve.

That doesn’t mean there are problems. There are. There are always problems. But that feeling — the impulse to look for problems — is not evidence that problems exist, or that it’s necessary right now for me to solve them.

“Problems” are a never-ending stream of things I find unacceptable (based on my opinion), which I can grab from anytime… or leave alone.

If I leave them alone, I have a new problem: not knowing what to do with the part of me that feels it needs to solve a problem right now.

This is where my attention is needed. The quality of attention needed here is not problem-solving, but compassion.

—Nathan