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Recognize wandering thoughts
for what they are—distractions.
We are working on an overdue project, one that requires concentration. But it’s also lunchtime. Up pops a picture of a veggie burger and french fries. We may well smile and congratulate ourselves on deciding what to eat, but those thoughts are distractions that break our concentration.
Or maybe we’re chanting “Amituofo” at a Pure Land center and remember that we need to stop by the store on the way home and get a birthday present for a friend. Maybe that book she wants? Yes, this too is a distraction—thinking about where to get that present as opposed to chanting.
If we’re working on one project and move our thoughts elsewhere, then our original train of thought is broken. These wandering thoughts distract us. It will take time to get back into what we were previously doing. That’s time wasted. No matter how brilliant a distracting idea, that’s what it is—a distraction.
So think this way: wandering thoughts equals distractions.