(Q) why do I get angry, sad, depressed, anxious almost all the time and then for a brief moment I find peace. why does it feel like I have to struggle for 98% of my time so I can find peace for 2%? (A) because you are attached (Q) "because I am attached?" what does that even mean? (A) almost everyone in this world is attached...to their identities you are attached to your country you are attached to your religion you are attached to your caste you are attached to your family you are attached to your "-isms" you are attached because you identity and because you identity every time someone questions your identity you feel attacked because you identify you have expectations because you have expectations you create a preference for sometimes your expectations will be met, sometimes they will not so now, you are seeking a certain type of outcome you are stuck in this preference a like towards something a dislike towards something this creates conflict so you search online to find answers for your conflicts eventually you will find yourself in front of a guru, a baba, a yogi and this guru will tell you to just be be present so you do it, you try to be present sometimes you'll be able to do it sometimes you'll find it impossible you motivate yourself you discipline yourself and somehow find a way to be present and for a few days you will be free from all forms of conflict you will find peace and happiness but then suddenly everything falls apart you once again find yourself in all forms of conflict in the end you resign to the idea that this is what life is like (Q) wait a minute, this is exactly how I feel like, all the time. are you saying, it does not have to be like this, that there is a way? (A) yes, but there is no way. the way is the obstacle. but you will not get it. (Q) so, what do I do? (A) there is nothing to do (Q) "nothing to do?" but I don't want to be like this, I don't want to suffer, I want peace, everlasting peace. (A) you will never find peace, because you live within your mind (Q) what do you mean by living within your mind? what is mind? (A) mind is preference, mind is thought, mind is everything you think you are but precisely not (Q) tell me more (A) imagine you are walking your dog and it is tied to a leash which is attached to your arm. every time the dog moves, you move. the dog finds something, it gets excited, agitated, it wants to rush around, jump around, do all kinds of gymnastics. and because you are also tied to the dog, it feels like you and the dog are one and the same. (Q) and it is not a pleasant feeling (A) but if you detach the leash and let go of the dog, you take a seat on the park bench and watch it from a distance. now, you don't feel like you and the dog are one and the same. (Q) so what are you saying? (A) detach the leash (Q) but if I do that, how will I experience everything, will I not go mad, if I stop being mindful of everything? (A) who is this that has gotten this thought. is it the human or is it the mind? (Q) uh.. the mind? (A) we are all full, full of our minds. we must become mindless, not mindful. (Q) never heard someone put it that way. how can I be mindless? (A) when you've experienced the burden of living within your mind, the answer will find you. until then, you will oscillate, from pleasure to pain, from hope to despair, from past regrets to future expectations.