The human mind is a double-edged sword. It's perhaps the best thing which has happened to our species or the worst depending on how you choose to look at it. But, despite all the things it has helped us discover and invent, it has very craftily evaded revealing details about itself.
Though we claim to understand the human mind, through sciences like psychology, the truth of the matter is that we've barely scratched the surface.
Let's take for example the origin of how thoughts come to us. Are they always triggered by external stimuli? If so, how come we end up thinking random nonsense even when we are sitting idle, when we close our eyes etc.. The vagaries of the mind excite and depress us, make us have mood swings, enslave us by their constant chaotic dance of thoughts and ideas in a never- ending stream.
I think the ability to introspect is one of the craziest capabilities given to the mind. It's somewhat akin to studying light using light. And because of this it remains one of the toughest things to do. Because, when some object of intellect studies itself, however distant and aloof it may remain, cannot be 100 % objective. And the mind of each person is unique, hence no one can really claim to know completely the mind of someone else or his own for that matter.
The funny thing about introspection is when the mind decides to engage in it. The most common occurrence being at the time of one's Death. The mind forces you to ask questions about all the things that you've done in your life and whether they were really worth doing. Some actions of the past which one would have been proud of seem inane at the hands of the mind introspecting. So does it mean that introspection always manages to show us the correct actions? Not really. The thing that sucks about this whole process of introspection is that at the end of it, it leaves behind a big question mark to which no answer really exists. Probably this is how a processor feels when it's stuck in a never ending loop.
But the real kicker's this. Though most often introspection ends up getting people depressed, the mind somehow enjoys it. It's like any other stimulants. After a session of introspection the person feels heady and light. It's like getting a high where you're able to overcome the usual thralldom of thoughts and control them to think like you want them to. For example this post is also a result of introspection wherein I'm ridiculing the concept but my mind's having the last laugh. So next time, when you introspect, think about this : Are you figuring out your mind? Or are you figuring out what your mind wants you to figure out?
Until next time,
Au Revoir.
