Impulse mindfulness and control

 “Those who will be first will be last.” Jesus

 

There was a famous psychology experiment conducted decades ago in which they asked children if they preferred eating one marshmallow now or getting two marshmallows the next day. Years later they observed that those children who had the impulse control to wait a day also had superior professional success as adults.

 

I was in a movie theater over thanksgiving suffering through Gladiator II that was chosen as a family movie to watch when someone called. Naturally I had shut off my phone, but I looked at the caller ID on the phone to see who was calling. Suddenly my brother-in-law screamed at me, “do you have any idea how irritating this is?” My anger shot up, but I didn’t say anything, counting in my mind the days when he would leave.

 

It’s an example of impulse control. My brother-in-law has none, while I always prided myself to have it. Keeping my calm in tough situations helped me professionally, but in spirituality, it made me arrogant. I felt I was a cut above others playing the observer role. Yet maybe that too is an example of Jesus’ “those who will be first will be last” when it comes to spiritual breakthrough. Key is to realize that the observer is part of the illusion.

 

Mindfulness sets us up for the breakthrough not the control. Key is to realize the irrationality of the impulse to get our way, just as observing that the minder of the guy declaring the sentiment as irrational is part of the story we are telling ourselves. Oneness acts. There is no one around to make a decision, and no one around feeling good about having made the “right” decision. Maybe the “impulsive folks” get this insight sooner. Who knows!