Thoughts on thoughts

Recently I heard on a Nick Bare podcast that thoughts are subjective in the mind but become objective once written.

We live most of our lives as humans in two places at once. First, Our bodies exist physically in the reality of Earth, the Milky Way, and the Universe. Second, our lives co-exist with the constant narrative that plays itself out in the mind. How often do you stop to meta-think? Think about what you’re thinking- think about your own thoughts in this moment. We might fantasize about another location we’d rather be, or recall a memory in our mind’s eye. Sometimes we reason with ourselves; we can put ourselves down, motivate ourselves to do something difficult, or problem solve a current predicament. In a moment of disarray, we might stop and think, “Why is my mind filled with such things?”. The mind is vast and most the thoughts we entertain never manifest into written words- but should they?

I would argue that the dichotomy between objective and subjective thoughts is a false one in the context of mental versus written. To think can be an objective process, often for me it is. I prefer to internally process, but when I get excited, I love communicating verbally with people I highly value. However, our thoughts can be convoluted at times, like a witch throwing in various ingredients, diabolically laughing as she churns her wooden spoon about the inner circumference of her cauldron. Exhibit A, my mind plunged into the creative use of words and my line of thought completely derailed itself…

I believe that the point the podcast was trying to make was in his explanation. He said that once your thoughts are typed, written, out there, then we can objectively look and evaluate them for validity, logic, and sensibility. I agree with his statement because of my past experiences with journaling. Every phase of my life that I characterize by mental clarity has this in common: a direct, consistent bridge between the thoughts of my mind and the physical world. This has taken many mediums, most often pen and paper.

For this stage of my life, I chose this platform. While not all my thoughts will make it to the keyboard of my iPad, I think there is wisdom in discretionary vulnerability. I enjoy meditating on the inner thoughts of many of my favorite humans via internet content. Their words scale the boundaries of my own thinking outward to novel places, or to pertinent reminders. Maybe my thoughts will resonate with you as well. I have very rarely written for an audience other than an education professional, so this experience feels quite freeing thus far. I enjoy the tension of the intricate dance between order/logic and creativity/stylistic flow. The empty page- mile 0, is a paradox- being empty, simultaneously it is filled with infinite opportunity. Welcome to my thoughts. Stay as long or little as you’d like. I’d love to hear yours too.