Sometimes I think of the mind as being like a cat. Just like a cat loves to wander, our mind tends to do the same. But also, just as a cat eventually comes back home, our mind naturally returns to mindfulness.
I’m starting an online meditation course in a couple of days that focuses on a practice called “Just Sitting.” This practice is different from others like mindful breathing or cultivating kindness and compassion. The “Just Sitting” practice doesn’t have a specific goal. We’re not even trying to be mindful in a deliberate way.
At first glance, this might seem like a waste of time. If you’ve ever meditated, you know how the mind can wander and how it can be an effort to bring it back to your focus, whether it’s your breath or thoughts of kindness. You might think that without making an effort to be mindful, you would just sit there distracted and not accomplish anything.
But it’s not like that at all!
Even when you’re Just Sitting and your mind starts to wander, something interesting happens—it always finds its way back on its own. Think about it. You’ve probably noticed when you aim to stay mindful of your breathing, your mind gets distracted without you consciously deciding to let it wander. Unmindfulness just happens by itself. But haven’t you also noticed how your mind always brings itself back to awareness again? Every time you get distracted, there comes a point when mindfulness returns. And just like the wandering, you don’t decide to become mindful again—it just happens on its own. One moment you’re lost in a daydream, and the next moment you realize it’s over, and you’re back to being aware. Your mind knows how to do this by itself.
Often, when the mind comes back to mindfulness, we might feel disappointed that it wandered in the first place, or we might force ourselves to focus again. But neither of these reactions is helpful.
Think of how you would treat a cat that wanders home. If you yelled at it or tried to keep it in one place, it would probably just leave again. But if you welcomed your cat warmly and gave it space to settle, it would eventually find a quiet spot to rest. What if you had a similar attitude towards your mind? Instead of feeling frustrated or making an effort, what if you warmly welcomed it when it returned to mindfulness, feeling gratitude and happiness? Maybe, just like the cat, your mind would settle down more quickly.
Initially, you might think of welcoming the mind home as something you do during meditation. But over time, you might realize that warmth and appreciation also appear naturally. Just as the mind comes back to mindfulness on its own, so do feelings of warmth and appreciation. Meditation starts to feel more effortless. The practice happens by itself. The mind comes home and is at peace.
If you were wondering about free will, what I’ve experienced tells me that conscious free will is an illusion. Our thoughts and decisions seem to come from the unconscious, and then we become aware of them. So, while our choices aren’t completely free, they aren’t entirely preprogrammed either.
Welcoming the mind home during meditation is a helpful practice. I hope this analogy of the wandering cat brings new insight and peace to your meditation practice. Keep being kind to your mind, and it will settle down, just like a cat coming home.
If you’re experiencing stress from different areas of your life, it’s natural to want to escape it. Spiritual seeking often begins with this desire to escape suffering. To find peace, we need to learn what within us causes suffering and what brings calm. This is a lifelong practice, but it starts with being gentle, kind, and persistent with yourself.
All the best in your practice.