The Feeling of “Too Much”
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You know the feeling. It’s that tidal wave of notifications, deadlines, desires, and demands crashing over you. Your brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open, all of them playing different, frantic music. Your to-do list isn’t just long; it feels alive, mocking you with its endless scroll.
This is the signature emotion of modern life: overwhelm. It’s a state of mental and emotional paralysis where the sheer volume of what needs to be done, what you want, and what others want from you feels so immense that you can’t figure out where to even start.
We try to fight it by building dams—setting more boundaries, trying new productivity apps, or attempting to shut out the world. But what if the solution wasn’t to stop the rivers from flowing, but to become as vast as the ocean? What if a single, powerful metaphor from the Bhagavad Gita could restore your inner peace in less than five minutes?
Your 5-Minute Mental Reset, Courtesy of the Ocean
When we feel overwhelmed, it’s because our mind is like a small pond. Even a single new stream of desire or demand can make it overflow, creating chaos. But Lord Krishna offers a different vision for our inner world. He compares the mind of a wise, peaceful person to the great ocean.
This isn’t just poetry; it’s a powerful psychological tool. It’s a 5-minute mental reset that can transform a state of chaotic anxiety into one of focused calm.
Wisdom in Verse: The Ocean of the Mind
This one verse contains a complete meditation for dealing with the constant influx of life. It’s a practical guide to reclaiming your sanity when the world feels like it’s spinning out of control.
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् | तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ||
āpūryamāṇam achala-pratiṣhṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśhanti yadvat, tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśhanti sarve sa śhāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 70)
Translation: “Just as the ocean remains undisturbed by the incessant flow of waters from rivers merging into it, likewise the sage who is unmoved despite the flow of desirable objects all around him attains peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy desires.”
Here’s how to use this verse as your 5-minute guide to inner peace:
Minute 1: Become the Ocean. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Instead of seeing your mind as a small, fragile container, visualize it as a vast, deep, and calm ocean. Feel its immense, unshakable stability.
Minute 2: Watch the Rivers Flow. Now, picture all your overwhelming thoughts, desires, worries, and to-do items as rivers. Don’t try to stop them or dam them up. Simply watch as they flow into the vast ocean of your awareness. A river of work stress, a river of social media envy, a river of family obligations—let them all come.
Minute 3: Notice the Stillness. As these rivers merge with the ocean, notice what happens. Nothing. The ocean is so vast and full that it easily absorbs them all without overflowing or being disturbed. Its deep stillness remains untouched. Realize that your true self is just as vast. These passing desires cannot disturb your inner peace unless you let them.
Minute 4: Release the Chase. The verse ends by saying peace is not for the kāma-kāmī—”the desirer of desires.” This is the person who chases after every river, trying to drink it dry. In this minute, consciously release the need to chase. You don’t have to satisfy every desire to be happy. Let them flow into you and dissolve.
Minute 5: Rest in Your Fullness. The ocean is already full. It doesn’t need the rivers to be complete. Take a final deep breath and rest in this feeling of inner contentment. Your peace is already within you; it doesn’t depend on anything external. You are the ocean.
From Overwhelmed to Ocean-Like Calm
This simple practice works because it shifts your identity from someone who is a victim of life’s demands to someone who has the inner capacity to handle them all. Overwhelm is the feeling of a pond overflowing. Peace is the feeling of the ocean, effortlessly receiving everything.
You don’t need to escape the world to find peace. You just need to remember the vast, calm ocean you hold within.
What “rivers” are flowing into your mind today?
Try this 5-minute reset and feel the difference between being a pond and being an ocean. Share your experience in the comments below!
If this practice brought you a moment of peace, share it with someone else who’s feeling overwhelmed. And subscribe for more timeless wisdom to navigate modern life.