Mind Over Matter
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Over the years, I have developed a practice of meditation.
Every morning, I make my coffee and meditate for around thirty minutes. The sense of calm that follows often grounds me and helps me focus.
But within a few hours, my mind slips back into overthinking, analysing—and what I call destructive mode.
One day, I noticed something.
It was around noon. I was chatting with a friend on WhatsApp when I noticed that the garbage was almost spilling out of the large dustbin in my kitchen. I quickly picked up the garbage bag, replaced it with a new one, and kept the old bag aside for the corporation van to collect the next day.
The following day, I noticed the same thing. The garbage bag was full again. So once more, I threw it out and covered the dustbin with a new bag. This time, I also bought a larger dustbin—the largest possible for a house—hoping I wouldn’t need to empty it every day.
The next day, after meditating as usual, I returned for lunch and checked the dustbin, almost expecting a small sense of achievement.
But what I saw opened my mind.
The dustbin was full again. And I was the only one using it.
That’s when it struck me: if I wanted the dustbin to stay clean and usable for longer, I didn’t need a bigger bin—I needed to put less garbage into it.
The amount of garbage output depended entirely on what I was throwing in. More garbage meant more cleaning. Less garbage meant less cleaning.
I looked at the clutter I was generating, reduced it over the next few days by purchasing only essentials, and soon I didn’t need to clean the dustbin every day. In fact, I cleaned it only once every three to four days.
That’s when I noticed the same pattern in my mind.
After meditation, my mind stayed calm for a few hours. But as noise and clutter crept in, it slowly slipped back into destructive mode.
Social media and instant messaging apps have increased this clutter. They help us connect with people—but disconnect us from ourselves. Clutter has increased. Focus has reduced. Efficiency has taken a hit.
So I decided to reduce the inputs to my mind.
I uninstalled some apps and used the web versions for others. I limited myself to a few minutes a day—only if they were truly important. When I felt bored, I went for walks without my phone and let my mind breathe.
After all, what do you really do with so much unwanted information?
Within days of reducing my social media intake, my mind stayed calm for longer periods.
I could focus better. My efficiency improved.
That’s when I realised something simple:
Meditation helps you empty the mind.
But if you keep dumping garbage into it, no dustbin—no matter how large—will stay clean.
(This is an excerpt from my upcoming non-fiction book, where each short story leaves behind a question rather than an answer.)
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