I yawn. My eyes get watery and I take a deep breath. I grab my recently filled water bottle and take a sip. It's early in the morning and I'm in the car headed off to school. For about two years now I have told myself that this small period of numbness battling sleep is the time I have to really reflect. I say this mostly because few life-modifying realisations have come out of my morning ride to school (watch how I call it life-modifying and not life changing). I now know its not true. The loud music playing in my earphones, as tranquil as I attempt for it to be, doesn't let me focus on my thoughts, theres too much background noise. Sometimes the traffic and the hurried vibe the city at this hour distracts as well, especially in an ever busy city like Lima. But today I chose to really delve into my thoughts and meditate as I take my earphones off and turn the radio volume down.
I start thinking about the most trivial of topics and I'm not worried because I know eventually something important will pop up. After a few minutes "The Things They Carried" pops up in my head and my discussion about mental freedom and what it means to be alive with Mr. Topf run through my mind. That one conversation takes up most of my car ride to school, I think about the characters in the book, about Tim O'Brien and his young self. I wonder how important survival must be for a war veteran like himself and all of the emotional clogging that possibly brings. I remember about cathartic experiences and how vital for society's mental health they are. I then remember the conversation we had as a 2017 IA cohort about the brain and the mind, as well as the proceeding one on prejudices and appearance. As my brain starts shifting topics to the book Mr. Bonnici recently recommended to me I arrive at school and have to pause my thoughts, time to land on reality. As I walk towards the Innovation Academy classroom, I just feel something similar to an emotional relief. I suppose this meditation was a cathartic experience. I then remind myself of how powerful thought and meditation are, and as I say good mornings in the hallway, I make a mental note to remind me to take my earphones off and block all background noise every once in a while.
I start thinking about the most trivial of topics and I'm not worried because I know eventually something important will pop up. After a few minutes "The Things They Carried" pops up in my head and my discussion about mental freedom and what it means to be alive with Mr. Topf run through my mind. That one conversation takes up most of my car ride to school, I think about the characters in the book, about Tim O'Brien and his young self. I wonder how important survival must be for a war veteran like himself and all of the emotional clogging that possibly brings. I remember about cathartic experiences and how vital for society's mental health they are. I then remember the conversation we had as a 2017 IA cohort about the brain and the mind, as well as the proceeding one on prejudices and appearance. As my brain starts shifting topics to the book Mr. Bonnici recently recommended to me I arrive at school and have to pause my thoughts, time to land on reality. As I walk towards the Innovation Academy classroom, I just feel something similar to an emotional relief. I suppose this meditation was a cathartic experience. I then remind myself of how powerful thought and meditation are, and as I say good mornings in the hallway, I make a mental note to remind me to take my earphones off and block all background noise every once in a while.