I tried my best not to analyze the thoughts that entered my mind during the ride. My goal was to stay present and to simply observe everything around me including myself and my own thoughts and emotions without becoming attached to any of it. It was a riding meditation.

Several thoughts ran through my mind as I rode. I thought to myself: “Why aren’t people talking to one another?”, “Why aren’t they acknowledging each others existence?”, “Where are these people going in such a hurry?”, “What will they do once they get there?”, and “What happens after they do whatever it is that had them in such a hurry?”. Maybe they will start the entire cycle over again? It all seemed so surreal to me when I was in the now. The roar of the cars seemed be more like chaos and I could actually feel the insanity of the peoples uncontrolled thoughts dragging me into unconsciousness.

When I arrived back home I turned my analytical mind back on to process what I had experienced on a physical level. People in general didn’t seem to be aware of the present, anymore more so than when they are sleeping. They seemed to be walking and driving around in a sleep state. Consciousness manifested for the experience but the experience never happening because their minds were focused on the nonexistent future and past.

I thought back to my childhood for the specific purpose of trying to understand this unconscious state they were in. Before I started school, time meant nothing to me. I didn’t think about the past or the future, only the present. I still learned new things and functioned in society much like I do now only I was closer to the source of life as a child, the root consciousness that I feel we all come from and are still connected too. I rarely see a child that’s stressed out or on blood pressure medicines. Children are generally joyful and compassionate for others and live in the moment. What a wonderful idea.

This brings me to me new year’s resolution. Starting now I resolve to be more like a child and to live more in the present, only drawing from the past and the future when absolutely necessary while living this physical life that is trapped in time and space.

The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive. To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly—you usually dont use it at all. It uses you. — Eckhart Tolle