Thoughts are usually understood as mental markers or maps. They’re the way our mind reacts to, recognizes, and correlates stimuli.

Thoughts have shape, form, gravity, and for all their insubstantialness, can take up a lot of space. Consider the ideas or thoughts called Love, or War, or God, or Fear, and you know what I mean.

Not all thoughts are verbal. In fact, many times, faced by a truly mind-blowing thought (imagine for example the thought called “Ohmyshelikesmetoo!”) we end up literally at a loss for words. 

I do believe that all thoughts are energy. And it is through them that we shape and reshape our reality, singularly and collectively in every moment. Through our thoughts, the world is transformed for better or worse. We have thoughts that drag us down. We have thoughts that elevate our being. We have thoughts that make the next breath worth taking.

Thoughts are the building blocks of the humanity-defining trait we call creativity. Having a lot of thoughts is like having a lot of Lego pieces. The more you have, the more stuff you can potentially build. Of course it’s also true that too many thoughts can freeze us into inaction. That’s where things like discipline and will and playfulness come in, to rescue us from overthinking and underdoing, and get us into being and becoming.

We are encouraged to live our days fully present. Not lost in thought. Not absentmindedly. But mindfully.

Lawin Bulatao is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Hakuhodo International Philippines. He has held positions and won awards for some of the country’s finest ad agencies including JWT, Dentsu, Publicis and BBDO. He is also a published poet and a spoken word artist who performs for Sanctum and the Poetry Global Network. Lawin is still looking for the meaning of life and hopes it doesn’t take the rest of his life to find out.