Thinking about it

 

Thinking about it

 

Often when we are talking to someone, they will reply, “I am thinking about it.”  What exactly is thinking about it? And what is it?  According to MacMillan Dictionary, the phase is “used for adding something that you have just remembered about a subject that you are talking about.”

When I was a child, it meant what I want was probably not going to happen, or thinking about it by my parent was going to take the length of time a small child would take to generally forget about the immediate want. When I am on vacation, I like to visit several little shops, tell them, I am thinking about it and might be back later. The man, my husband’s strategy has always been to kiss me soundly so I forget I wanted to go into a particular shop or boutique while on vacation.  His method is a very good and sound one. It means his patience for standing around has reached its limit. Our child on the other hand had had a very physical response to his mother’s shopping, once he stood in front of a doorway to a boutique, arms out stretched and told me in his small voice, “There is nothing in here for you.”  It worked.  I laughed and we went to a playground. Now he is grown up and has a wife, I wonder . . .

There was no afterthought, when I said “I am thinking about it.”  What does the thinking about it mean now to me?  Choices.  I do the thinking in a different way.  I ask more questions.  Do I think about how the universe is running along just fine without me?  Does it need my input?  In a strange way, the world does need my input, my thoughts, emotions are constantly flying into the energy of the world.  It is invisible, subtle, yet powerful all the same. One of my favorite authors says this.

Anything you do for yourself, you do for the world. Don’t think that you and the world are two separate things. When you breathe in mindfully and gently, when you feel the wonder of being alive, remember that you’re also doing this for the world. Practicing with that kind of insight, you will succeed in helping the world. You don’t even have to wait until tomorrow. You can do it right now, today.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

I don’t need to say I am thinking about it.  I just need to remember I can do it.  You may have noticed, I said I can do it.  There is no should or need here. I can do it. Simply, because I can.