Audition Your Thoughts

You are not
your thoughts,
and not all thoughts
are true or helpful,
or even your own.
You are not
their originator
but rather,
their arbiter.
Should you sponsor,
direct, and produce
the ramifications
of their content?
Will it hold up as
redeeming and valid?

Dispassionately
and objectively
observe the notions
that insinuate,
perform, and cloyingly
audition themselves.
They are gesticulating
vocalizing, and posturing,
temporary and optional.
Do you want them?
Do they move your story
forward in a desirable,
authentic way?

They are acting;
they are a pretense,
they do not necessarily
represent reflective reality,
so they definitely
do not need
to stress you out.
Don’t let your musings
ensnare you, for you are
in control of them;
they are not
in control of you.
You have the power;
you run the theater.

When a negative thought
prances across
the stage of your mind,
Cut it out and recast it.
Rewrite the script.
Run some positive
or productive
dialogue instead.

Realize you are not
the author of most
of what you think;
it is merely presented
to you by culture or family,
convention or the past.
Those sources formulate
much of what comes in–
unedited lines,
awaiting consideration,
management, and modulation.
Your job is to sift out
the undesirable suggestions
to create a constructively
beneficial plot, which will
identify and inform,
inspire and transform.

Question assumptions,
sources, opinions, and reasons.
Lean into discerning
what serves you and others,
releasing what does not.
Be resilient and kind
to yourself in the process.
Have compassion on yourself
as you sort it all out.
Work to keep your focus
on what is within your own
sphere of influence.

Also accept that
not all questions
have clear answers.
Often more than one option
is just fine and
equally supportable.
Don’t obsess over uncertainty.
Choose what will bring
the most empowerment,
while allowing for some
improvisational surprises
to keep things
lively, fun, and fresh.

Be grateful.
Affirm the good;
Build healthy habits.
Get help if you need it.
Foster and promote
your own mental health.
Examine your thoughts;
sorting through them
and casting the best ones
in the most dominant roles.
But especially remember
not to believe
everything you think!

by Polly Castor
May 18, 2026