The Trembling, Restless Mind Is Hard to Guard
The mind, trembling and restless, hard to guard and hard to check, the wise straighten as a fletcher straightens an arrow.
Do I admit my mind as something to be trained, or do I just let it run loose?
📝Reflection
This verse first admits honestly: the mind is hard to train. Trembling, restless, never still for a moment, slipping away the moment you try to grasp it. I like this honesty. When those who study the mind often say only "the mind is calm by nature," this old verse first admits, "No — the mind is a scattered thing by nature." Only then does a path appear. The heart of it is in the latter lines. An arrow is bent by nature. But the fletcher warms it over fire and presses it straight by hand. So with the mind. Being scattered by nature is no cause to give up, but cause to practice straightening it. Meditation, the breath, writing — these are that hand. As we do not blame a bent arrow, there is no need to blame a scattered mind. Only straighten it, a little each day. The belief that it can be trained is the beginning of training.
🌱Apply It Today
When a scattered mind brings self-blame today, regard it thus: "The mind is a bent arrow by nature, and I am straightening it." Do not blame; straighten it a little each day.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
