Thoughts die in the same place they’re born — that place both before and after reality, resting in the arms of Quality itself. I don’t actually know if I believe that thoughts can even die, or if they are sort of lost until uncovered again. My current and prevailing opinion of consciousness isn’t so much conflicting with science as it is limited by it, so it is difficult for me to find the words to dissect the matter.

I shouldn’t speak so hyperbolically here — it is not as though these ineffabilities are undefinable, but rather inherently personal. There is no way to study consciousness or thought in a direct manner, and all sufficient data is but a retelling or amalgamation of the person’s direct experience. Words are insufficient here because we do not think in words, we think in images and feelings, passions and instincts. Words are just a system we’ve developed to decipher and communicate the language of our minds and hearts.

So, thoughts die in a manner of ways, but namely due to inattention. A passing thought isn’t always the Theory of Relativity or the hook of a brilliant concerto, and it needs care to survive. I think even the Theory of Relativity had Einstein thinking and writing for hours on end before he shared it with the world. In our world of distractions, thoughts slip away in curated fifteen-second soundbites and endless newsfeeds. If our mind isn’t clear and ready to accept a thought, how else will it have room to flourish in the garden?

In the same such way, thoughts die in translation. Mathematicians and scientists often make those sorts of discoveries because they are versed in the language and workings of those worlds. How many people have untangled half-truths of the world only to lack the words to fully explain or understand the matter? And on the flipside, people break through all the time: there are child prodigies, polymaths, and just regular-ass folks who get a bug up their ass and figure something out.

I should say that there are a great many places and ways thoughts die, perhaps as various as the many choices we make each day. But a final thought in relation to this thread — thoughts often die in the labor it takes to birth them. Thinking is easy, as it is something we do innately every single day. But the type of thinking and daring it takes to bring a new and unique idea into the world, fleshing it out in material reality, defending it against both the Church of Reason and the fantastic? That is difficult, to say the least.

Try to fight against your dying thoughts. Just write your passing fancies down on sticky notes, whiteboards, your hand, whatever. Even your silliest ideas could be earth-shaking if you only believed in yourself. Everyone’s stuff is dumb until it’s not. Do not allow the fickle judgements and habits of society cow you into a state of reactionary unthinking.

Center your heart in kindness and empathetic understanding, and don’t let your thoughts reverberate in hollowness across the Aether. Get out there and do something, even if it is just writing it down or meditating.

May you find peace in your practice, whatever that may be.

With fortitude,

Kyle