Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 22, 2022

Goat should be mindful that talking to Rat is a waste of time and energy.

How can he be mindful without a mind? Isn’t that like having a full bucket without the bucket?

Actually Rat specializes in mindlessness. Very relaxing.

I have an app that is mindful, but it doesn’t help me any.

Mindfullness is achieved when mind be fully full and there be no anymore space left in mind for anything else.

Once again, how in the heck are you ALWAYS 100(one hundred) percent% RIGHT?

And the “best” comment of the day, too!

Mined fullness? Is that the refined product or the ore?

Mind over matter, Rat does not have a mind so it does not matter!

For me, the trick has always been to balance engagement with the problems of the world and disengagement to make time for internal refreshment. I’m not Roman Catholic, but there’s a Catholic monk I read (Richard Rohr) who has a Center for Action and Contemplation based on keeping spiritually healthy while also being actively engaged in the injustices of the world (and no, he’s not one of those anti-abortion activists. He works for LGBTQ rights, immigrant/asylum rights, climate health and economic justice).

But yeah, sometimes I just have to withdraw to find some light again.

I’m stressed from busy weekend shifts.

Actually, it IS mindfulness. Mindfulness involves being actively aware of your surroundings and your response to them. If your response is to be stressed out, then that’s what it is.

Ooooooooooooooooom!

What could Rat possibly be stressed out about?

I use the scripture “Be anxious for nothing”, let go, let God. Works every time.

Being away from Rat would help Goat with his stressful situation. Rat is stressed and stressful and likes it that way. Stressing others is a way of validating his existence.

Maybe mindLESSness would be better

Rat, that’s more like top-of-mindfulness.

That’s, like, the opposite of helpful.

I’m sorry but I just don’t GET being stressed. I grew up in the “duck and cover” days of the 50s. That never bothered me. It was just another drill like a fire drill that disrupted class for which I was thankful. I don’t stress over global warming. I figured if the Earth survived numerous ice ages, it’ll survive this too. And we’ll survive right along with it. I don’t stress over wars – I went to Vietnam and saw the horrors but I’m sanguine about it. I’ve lost close ones but life goes on – it has to. So no, I’m not stressed. I just accept each new morning as another day that I’m on top of the dirt.

In the past few years it seems like the psychobabblers have been working overtime to introduce silly words into the lexicon.

I’m quite mind-full. Remembering something now requires forgetting something else.

I find Rat’s claims of stress boring.

Mindfulness is a high priced way of learning how to make your mind blank. It’s one of those things like speaking in prose. I discovered I’d been doing it all my life.

Rat can ruin anything, can’t he?

I would rather have a mindful than get an earful!

We could all be more mindful of our mindlessness.

At least Rat has a good grasp of his reality….