In this brief monologue, Jake Burhans argues that suffering does not occur in the present moment but is generated by the mind’s tendency to ruminate on past regrets or future anxieties—a phenomenon he likens to a hamster wheel. He claims that when we are fully present, there is no time for suffering, and therefore, stepping off the mental “hamster wheel” and cultivating present‑moment awareness can dramatically reduce or eliminate suffering.
Here's the truth about suffering. It never actually happens in the present moment. It's all happening in the mind. You're on the hamster wheel of the mind thinking about the future, worried about some future event, or regretting some past event. You're suffering up here. If you're in the present moment, you never really have time to suffer. So if we can get off the hamster wheels of our mind and be more in the present moment, we can avoid so much suffering.
