Today marks one year of meditating on a daily basis. Mindfulness meditation has long been recommended to me by friends and I decided to try it after witnessing the benefits in someone close to me.

From the outside looking in I really couldn't understand what improvement could come from observing thoughts. I understood that time spent winding down while being introspective was a good thing but I found the first weeks to be difficult and akward to the point where I almost quit.

And then something happened. My perspective shifted for a brief moment and I got to see how ridiculously distracted I was by my own thoughts.

As time went by I learned that I was in a state of thinking without knowing that I was thinking, and whats even more frightening is that this state seemed to be the default one.

This is the heart of the matter and the point as I understand it: I am not my thoughts. It possible to observe thoughts and to not be distracted by them and the way to do so is to practice regularly.

Then there are other benefits. By not identifying with my thoughts and therefore escaping the idea of "who I am" and "what I'm like" I've changed my outlook on life.

I have been an unhappy person for years but now I am the opposite despite living more or less the same life. The unhappiness was a direct result of the distraction by my own thoughts. Thinking without knowing that I was regularly thinking my way into a miserable place.

Regularly observing that I am separate from my thoughts gives me temporary ground to stand on among the currents of bullshit inside my head. This tool is simply invaluable and I look forward to becoming better at it.