Mistaken Time

I was lying down in bed. It was early and I had gone to bed late the night before. I could faintly hear the rain outside. The curtains were drawn and I could not see outside. The bedroom was faintly lit by early morning light. It felt early - maybe 7.30 am. It was a Sunday morning and for me, it is not a working day. I was awakened by my 4 year old son making some noise trying to get everyone else to wake up. I felt a slight irritation - thinking the thoughts "It's so early, only 7.30 am or so - he shouldn't make so much noise - I need my sleep - I feel so tired -I should get up from bed only at 10 am or later...". Believing my every thought, I felt really tired. My mind sought all evidence it can, to prove that I was tired. I felt the heavy weight of my body, the half-drowsy awareness, and irritation at being awakened by my 4-year old at such an early hour.

At that point, my elder son, who is 10 years old asked "What time is it?" I lazily reached for my handphone to check the time. And to my amazement, I saw that it was already 10.30 am!
At that very instant, all my tiredness magically evaporated! My mind no longer believes that it was 7.30 am. The irritation also left. And suddenly, I felt renewed vigour as though I have had a good nights sleep. I had no problem getting up from bed.

This is remarkable, I thought. Believing my thoughts can actually manifest all my stressful feelings. And how the mind seeks evidence to prove what it believes. And I go through life each day believing all my thoughts - most of them false thoughts - and how much suffering that has caused me.