We’ve all had moments when everything feels overwhelming, when thoughts spiral faster than we can catch them, when we throw our hands up and declare, “I’m about to lose my mind!”
But what if “losing your mind” isn’t actually about going crazy?
What if it’s simpler than that?
Recently, I listened to a Buddhist teacher describe the meditation process.
According to this teacher, meditation boils down to three steps:
1. You’re with the breath.
2. You realize you’ve strayed away.
3. You return.
He explained that when you focus on your breathing during meditation, something inevitable happens: you lose focus. Your mind wanders. You suddenly “wake up” on the other side, realizing you’re thinking about your grocery list, tomorrow’s meeting, or that awkward conversation from last week.
And then? You gently bring yourself back to the breath.
He referred to those times when your thoughts wander as “losing your mind.”
This got me thinking about that phrase we toss around so casually: “I’m losing my mind.” We use it when we’re stressed, overwhelmed, or feeling scattered. We treat it like we’re on the verge of a breakdown.
What if “losing your mind” simply means you’ve lost touch with the present moment? What if it’s just another way of saying you’ve strayed from your breath, from your center, from the here and now?
When we feel like we’re “losing it,” maybe we’re not going crazy at all. Maybe we’re just experiencing step two of the meditation process: realizing we’ve wandered away from presence in our immediate reality.
Your breath is always available as an anchor back to now. It’s been with you since your first moment and will be with you until your last. It requires no special equipment, no app, no subscription. Just attention.
Use it intentionally.
Maybe “keeping your mind” isn’t about never losing focus—it’s about developing the gentle skill of coming back home to yourself, again and again and again. TZT
If you enjoy the ideas I share in this newsletter, consider picking up a copy of The Zen Teacher: Creating Focus, Simplicity, and Tranquility in the Classroom.
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