Most of the time thoughts just come into and go out of mind, they just pass through without really stopping or forming. They are just whispers, fleeting and inconsequential. But sometimes they linger, and for some reason they catch my attention and draw my focus. This moment of sudden interest can either be good or bad depending on my situation. If I have time to spare to explore and grow the idea it can be a very therapeutic pastime, but if I should be concentrating on something else or sleeping, it may not be such a positive experience.
When I notice a thought it’s a bit like scrolling through social media posts and stopping on one that seems worth a better look. I may read it in more detail, click on the link, even make a comment. But sometimes it is so special that I may download it or save it to favourites.
Here is one of those thoughts that caught my attention as it wandered through my neural pathways. I think it probably germinated from a conversation about why we miss people we can no longer be with. Investigating the thought further brought to mind a sentiment in a poem “do not stand by my grave and weep, I am not there I do not sleep” and the statement evolved into the question “Where are we?” by which I mean – “Where does our persona, or if you like, our spirit abide?” I suppose I would say in my brain, it is something in my brain that makes me – well me. And I posed this possibility to myself – if we (the essence of us) exists in our brain (as energy?) then perhaps others can as well. After all if we can say “I think therefore I am” perhaps it is equally possible to say “I think of them therefore they are”.
I did say no deep thoughts didn’t, well it is a Friday, so I’ll leave this strange musing here with the words of Albus Dumbledore – “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry. But why on earth would that mean it is not real?”
Because in the end where do we experience anything if not in our heads?
The Bend in the Road 