What The Hell!

The Grasshopper reminded me over the holiday weekend of something he’s said before:

“Hell is in your head.”

Now, I’m pretty sure I know what he means by that.

You’re in hell when you get completely caught up in your thoughts.

Think about that for a second.

Have you ever gotten into one of those fiery debates with yourself? You know the kind. Somebody says something – or you remember something somebody said – and suddenly there’s a whole argument going on inside your head.

And you’re winning, of course.

At least you think you are.

If hell is supposed to be all about constant friction, gnashing of teeth, and eternal flames, I can’t think of a better description than some of the battles we create in our own minds.

And here’s the funny part:

None of that arguing ever accomplishes anything.

You can conduct an entire blitzkrieg of banter in your head, make your case brilliantly, come up with the perfect comeback – and nobody else even knows the debate is happening.

All you've really done is throw another log on the fire.

That’s hell.

The first step out is pretty simple.

Notice that you’re in it.

Once you realize you’re the one creating and fueling the agony, you have another option.

You can step back.

Maybe grab a nearby seat in Limbo and just watch the whole thing unfold.

And you know what?

It can actually be pretty entertaining when you watch your mind arguing without joining in.

Of course, the minute you feel compelled to respond to the other side, you’re back in the fight.

You’ve bitten the tempting apple.

And there you are again.

Peace of mind? Gone.

This is why simply observing your mind can be a one-way ticket out of hell.

You don’t have to win the argument.

In fact, you eventually become less interested in being right and much more interested in being at peace.

You can see this pretty easily with a political argument.

Go on social media and offer an opinion. Or walk into a local bar and express one.

You won't have to wait long.

Pretty soon, somebody will have a counterargument. You’ll have a reaction to that. They’ll have a reaction to your reaction.

And away you go.

There’s no finish line.

Well, that’s exactly what we do when we saddle up to the barstool in our own minds.

And, like anything else, the devil is in the details.

The more deeply you get into the minutia of the argument, the harder it becomes to see the bigger picture.

And the bigger picture is this:

You don’t have to stay in the fight.

You can notice it.

You can watch it.

And you can walk away.

When you do, you leave the pit behind and rise to a much more peaceful place.

And I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty heavenly to me.

All the best,

John