Mindfullness

If you've ever read the writing or heard the speeches of Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Buddhist Monk & peace activist, you know he stresses the importance of 'mindfulness'. I've always been drawn to this premise.

I live my life always 3-5 steps ahead of where my body is. It's one of the things I'm always 'commended' on in job reviews. My ability to do 10-12 things at once and not lose track of any of them, in our culture, may be viewed as the highest level of 'mindfulness' but I know it's not the kind of mindfulness Thích Nhất Hạnh is referring to.

As I now try to get back on my feet since falling down the stairs, I've been thinking a lot about mindfulness. When I was heading down the stairs last Thursday, my mind was going in 20 different directions. I had already gone to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, met some potential employers, updated my resume, forwarded it to the local Kinko's, conferred with the Kinko's rep (to assure my resumes were printed in color, double-sided on 100% recycled, unbleached paper), changed clothes and made note of the books that had arrived at the library for us to pick up. I was thinking of the route we would take that would require the least amount of 'back tracking' while accomplishing everything I needed to get done (my brain is always thinking of how to minimize my movements to maximize the outcome). The one thing I was NOT thinking of...the stairs

Now, the pain and weakness in my leg requires me to think about every step I take. For that, I have to thank the pain. It's bringing me a level of mindfulness I've rarely had in my life. I can learn from this in all aspects of my life.

Living more mindfully in every way will make my life less frantic, will make me more present and will help me appreciate what I have right now. Honestly, it's difficult to let go of an aspect of your personality so highly prized by society.

So, I'm choosing to take one step at a time...literally and figuratively.