You Can’t Think and Feel at the Same Time

You can’t think and feel at the same timeYou can move between them very quicklyBut they take turns.Or perhaps more precisely, our attention takes turnsIf your attention is on one, it is not doing the otherBut sensing is foundationalThinking happens within the body of our experienceAnd when thinking gets constant airtimeWe miss a lotI considered feeling as introspective thoughts about what I was sensing for a long timeKind of a narrative about a sensation and what I think might’ve caused itAnd I continue to catch myself thinking about feeling instead of feelingUntil I remember this maximAnd as soon as I do, worlds open upBecause not only do I access the actual feeling state of my beingBut I become naturally aware of and involved in my environmentWhich I am a part of and it is a part of meThe environment was so often a silent partnerNot because it’s silent, but because it gets sacrificed on the altar of thinking about it as an “it” instead of as a “we” even though we share the actual breath of life constantlyModern culture encourages us to forget, incentivizing individual productivity and commodifying environment when considered at all.But breath by breath, I can rememberSense into the air as it touches my skin… in one place, then all around my bodyAnd then how that feels to the whole of my being, initiated by the skin sensation but distributedEvery breath forms and dissolves a dynamic series of relationships that cascade throughout our beingsAn ever-shifting Etch-a-sketch, like a murmuration of starlingsUs and our environment fully comingledWhile the brain loves repetition, the body knows no two moments are the same and listens to this momentWhich reveals ever-changing sensory responseTo which I often quickly attach a storyThat can be wonderful or horrible, but is almost always a diversionWhen identity resides solely in the head, of course I’m thinking: it’s the currency of the realmBut thoughts are only ever part of what’s happeningFeeling is a whole other world from thinkingThe more the better, but even a little goes a long way.(photo credit: Daniel Biber) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com