The A Gate

Having a ranch when I was a kid, we often “worked cattle.” That means rounding them up and doing various things like vaccinations, parasite control and marketing calves. The cattle were almost always separated into groups such as bulls, calves, sick cows ect. To do this the cattle were run through a shoot, narrow pathway, where they can go single file and were sent to different pens. To make sure they go to the right pen we used gates that go different directions. They need to go through one at a time. To do this we used an A gate to stop each cow. We called it an A gate because it was in the shape of a triangle, like a capital A.  The shape of the gate and the way it was hung made it so the more an animal pushed on it the tighter it closed.

Manning the A gate was a big responsibility. I had to do my job well or cattle went into the wrong pen. That caused a big problem and lots of extra work. The days were long and hard enough if things went perfectly. Extra work was a killer. I remember the pressure I felt when running the A gate for the first time. It was the most critical part of the operation and where most of the action was. I had to be on my guard every second.

The name A gate came from the shape, but it could also be called and the admittance gate. No animal gained admittance to the separation pens without passing through it. I enjoyed being the gate keeper. I didn’t know at the time I had an even more important gate keeper job, the gate keeper of my mind.

In my twenties I came to understand I get to decide what I think. I played around with this concept for a couple decades until I read the book Smile for No Good Reason by Lee Jampolsky. In it he says, “..it is important to be able to determine what thoughts to let into your mind, and which to keep out. Think of your mind as an “establishment” that is committed to peace of mind. Develop a watchful part of your mind to be a “bouncer” at the door who has the sole purpose of determining whether a certain perception, thought, or belief is conducive to your peace of mind.”

As I read more of his book I found that I am the one responsible for my own peace of mind. With a practice I have gotten better at operating the A gate of my mind. Like the cattle A gate, it takes being on guard and focusing on the job. If unhealthy thoughts get through on a regular basis it can really mess things up. Life goes much more smoothly when I do a good job.

As the Greek philosopher Heractilus wrote, “The soul is dyed by the color of its thoughts.” A wide variety of thoughts appear in my brain through the day. Some are beneficial and some destructive. It’s my job as the gate keeper to decide which I’m going to let in and stay a while. If I send them away quickly they won’t have much impact. If I embrace/dwell on them, they will change my life, especially if I give them a story. That means making up ideas of how they impact my life rather than just dealing with them for what they are. If an unpleasant situation comes up, such as a flat tire I need to deal with it and change the tire. Pretending it’s not flat can cause more problems. However, I don’t need to make up a story about how this flat tire is going to ruin my day. Those thoughts aren’t welcome. I’ll just change the tire and move on. Some stories, like grudges, can last a lifetime and dominate subsequent thinking.

Running the A gate was a big responsibility, but nothing compared to the admittance gate of my mind. It is said, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. When I was vigilant working cattle it prevented problems that could effect the rest of the day. When I am vigilant watching my own thoughts it can prevent the problems that come with destructive thinking and effect the rest of my life. That’s a responsibility I am glad to assume.

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.