It is a simple question, yet a profound one. What is a thought?
Joseph Goldstein raised it in a podcast this morning, and it has stayed with me. We all know what it feels like to be swept away by thinking or to wrestle with thoughts we wish we didn’t have. But when we look closely, what actually is a thought?
Metaphysically, a thought is an appearance in the mind, a moment of knowing. Scientifically, it is a brief electrical and chemical event in the brain. In either case, a thought is fleeting, a quick blip in our inner world. What gives thoughts power is not their substance, but the attention we invest in them.
My mom used to tell a story about me that still makes me laugh. When I was three or four, she found me staring out the large living room window, deep in concentration. I turned to her and asked, “Do you ever get tired of thinking?” Looking back, it was a small but telling glimpse into a lifetime spent watching the mind and wondering what to make of all its activity.
It is like driving down a road lined with street signs. You notice each one as it passes. Some streets look interesting. Something down one of them may catch your eye. But nothing changes until you turn. The moment you take that turn, your experience shifts. Emotions follow. The course of your day changes.
Thoughts work the same way. Most arise and dissolve with barely a ripple. Others capture us. We turn toward them. Before we realize it, they guide our behavior, shape our mood, and influence the direction of our lives.
And beneath all of this is an often overlooked truth.
Every action begins with a thought.
If we want to live an intentional life shaped by wise and skillful choices, our thought life deserves mindful attention. The thoughts we follow become the paths we walk. The ones we release dissolve before they can pull us off course.
When we are not mindful, we are led by our thoughts without knowing it.
To notice a thought is to remain awake.
A helpful practice is to acknowledge thoughts as they arise:
• “I’m thinking” when you catch the mind in motion.
• “I was thinking” when you wake up from a daydream.
You can also name the type of thought: judging, remembering, planning, rehearsing, worrying. For many of us, planning is the big one, pulling us into a future that has not arrived.
The benefit of this practice is simple. It returns us to the present. It reminds us that life unfolds here, not in the mind’s projections of past or future.
This human life is brief. When we spend too much of it lost in thought, we miss moments that matter. Coming back to awareness allows us to live the life we are actually in.
Without taking you too far away in thought, I’d love to hear the ones you are having about this topic. Leave a comment below and share what this brings up for you.
Here’s to waking up,
Jan💕
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