Distracted Meditations

On By Swarn GillIn Prose and Poetry

What are we doing?  Does anybody know?
Where are we going? Is there anywhere to go?
If a purpose was given to us, why do so few people show it?
If God suddenly appeared would anyone know it?
And if purpose is ours, can we make it good?
We really should
Too many people are looking for entertainment,
Content with containment,
Step outside of yourself and take a look,
Behind the crannies and the nook,
How others live and the pain they face,
The collective suffering of the human race

Do we shed that weight by pulling others down?
If we all saw the size of the load and shared it,
Wouldn’t we all feel it a little bit less?

We spend too much time yelling and shaming,
Pointing and categorizing and naming,
Bullied, berated, ground down and weathered,
Shortening the rope to the post they are tethered
What do we expect of people when they are made to feel small,
Is anyone paying attention at all?
This is serious yet we only hear laughter,
“This is funny we’ll deal with the consequences after,
Hurray for the charlatans, make them our leader,
Learn how to win being a liar and cheater,”
Scientists are mocked with joyful derision,
Horders of wealth keep creating division,
We laugh too much at authenticity,
Complexity,
It’s complicity

Tired and mired, stuck in a rut,
Can we open hearts and minds that are shut?
Will technology render our abilities useless,
To hide in digital world that is toothless,
What kind of future are we paving?
Are we even a species worth saving?
Chasing money, and spending, acquiring more stuff,
Work away your leisure time, it’s never enough,
Believing in fiction, the worst of addictions,
The pestilence of wealth, the worst of afflictions
The beauty in this world comes at no cost,
There seems to be no reason for feeling so lost,

I listen to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong,
Being moved by music, inspired by words,
And it seems so simple, so easy,
Life is so momentary.
Let’s stop filling it with wasted moments
The glass isn’t half empty or half full,
We’re just dreaming of holy grails,
Instead of breaking bread with our neighbors
Squandering the fruits of our labors
Thinking children’s smiles are made from action figures,
Instead of letting them chase you around the park,
Watching fireflies in the dark
We think that love is forged through diamond rings,
Instead of walking hand in hand in the bloom of spring,
Impressing our friends with bigger houses and cars,
Instead of trading stories about sources of scars
Under the stars

Close your eyes and feel the summer breeze,
Listen to the sounds of the whispering leaves,
And want for nothing

20 thoughts on “Distracted Meditations”

    2. I called it what I did, because of my starting to practice meditation and this is one of the challenges of training the brain to be mindful in the present is that your worries and anxieties are trying to keep the brain all over the place. But in general I think this is a problem for most people, and so I know a lot of people who feel the same way I do about the state of the world, and know what truly has value in this world and what doesn’t, even if we get lost sometimes. So I wanted to bring out that feeling.

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      1. Oh yes, I totally got the point of your title, hence, why I used the terms wander and mind. Apparently I suck at nuance and wit. Lol

        “So I wanted to bring out that feeling.”

        Which you did so well.

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  5. This is a fabulous poem. And it rings true as this, for me: distractions. Humans are expert at it. Distractions from the existentials of suffering and death. As to the first, avoid it at all costs by turning it outward. Which of course means it will eventually land squarely back in our laps. Of course. As to the second, live at full speed ‘just in case?’

    I think the best one can do is to keep returning to basics, as you did with listening to the Armstrong song. It IS a wonderful world, and it’s so easy to become distracted and lose sight of simplicity. Just when we think we’ve got a handle on things, there’s that monkeywrench. Tossed in just to see how we handle it(?)

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    1. Thank you Bela. …returning to the basics…. I have certainly found this to be essential to survival as I grow older. Having a child has certainly helped with that as well. It is pleasant reminder that a good part of joy lays in simple things. Even if I can’t experience the newness that my son feels…if I pause to think about it I remember there are all sorts of sensations to be felt besides newness.

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        1. Yes I’ve been doing it for the past few months too .. I’ve really been enjoying it. That’s what inspired this poem because while we can train the mind towards better mindfulness, there are some days when focusing is difficult and thoughts are too distracted. I think some days are just going to be like that… But I figure the better I become at meditating the better I will be able to focus on the moment and not let the weight of the world overwhelm me.

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