There is a traditional Buddhist story about a young monk who approaches a master saying, "I have just entered this monastery. Please teach me." The master looks at him and asks, "Have you eaten your rice?" "Yes," replies the monk. The master replies, "Wash your bowl." And in that moment, according to the story, the monk understands and achieves enlightenment.
The popular interpretation of this story is to approach daily, "mundane" tasks with mindfulness, to understand the intention and purpose of anything we do, including washing a dish.
I would like to propose a variation on this interpretation from the perspective of someone who has a tendency to over-think things. For me, the master in the story is giving the young monk a lesson in balance. The young monk is focused on gaining knowledge and wisdom, on nurturing his mind. The master is reminding him to also value his physical needs (eating his rice) and to value his surroundings and community (by washing his bowl).
This balance and tension between the mind, body, and soul is something that unites us in our human experience. Some may have a preference for thinking, like our young monk, while others prefer action. These preferences might be mild and shift based on various situations, but sometimes these preferences can be so strong that we find ourselves stuck in a pattern.
In telling the monk to wash his bowl, the master is teaching him that the antidote to overthinking is doing, to take action. This breaks a pattern and opens up new possibilities for perceiving and participating in the world.
So the next time you find yourself in a spiral of overthinking, try doing something instead. It does not need to be perfectly planned out or perfected executed, just do it. Go for a walk, play with your kids, reach out to someone, finish a blog post, or wash a bowl.
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