Life, really is, simply good
Mindfulness is about making something out of nothing by injecting simple meaning into everything you do. It suggests a simple philosophy that is available for everyone: enjoy and experience every moment you are in, in state of grace and meditation. Sounds highfalutin but it isn’t. Some samples. Use all your senses all the time. The sounds of the birds, the scents in the air, the stars and the moon, velvet skin and… When you live in the moment you will enjoy it. Holding hands that transmit love. Spices from around the world permeating your kitchen and your senses. Biting into an organic orange that came from creation.
It is a mistake to stop living in your fullness because of life’s constant pressures and demands. Even work can be transformed, as can commuting and finances, by living in the present. You will love what you do more and be much more adept at what you are doing. The peacefulness you feel ALL THE TIME will free you from living in the future, dreaming about new houses, new cars, romance and on it goes. And the past. The past is unknowable, as is the future. Why anything ever happened in your life is impossible to understand and so is the future. Loving your partner, family, friends and children is all possible now and thinking that you will have more time to love them once the house is paid off keeps an overactive Loki mind, busy and effective in bringing you down.
What next? Be happy now not in the promise of the future or the healing of the past. Do what you love to do now and be what you love with everyone you know. Get all the things you care about now: a new fountain pen and notebook, some hiking boots, a surfboard, a nice razor, a solid top guitar, an old Volkswagen Beetle, fix the leak in the roof, take the kids swimming, go to the movies with your wife, stop worrying about the future, grow some herbs and vegetables, preserve some fruit, ask your grandmother for blackberry jam recipe, learn to cook Indian curry, ride your bike to work, go on a keto diet and lose weight without ever being hungry, write a song, paint a picture, jump out of a plane, stop your inner criticism of your life, your wife, children and parents, love the ones you are with, buy that extra ram for your computer and a comfortable pillow, visit your neighbors with some cake and a smile, become a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu, start meditating, manage your time with Time Blocks, turn off your phone, use the Bullet System to organize all your life and thoughts on paper, take the dog for a swim, feed your dog real meat instead of kibble, make someone happy, trust people again.
Doing these things in the moment, in joy, in peace, are the real spiritual journey, not some esoteric crap beyond your ears that costs a small fortune, keeps you mentally and emotionally unwell and in some kind of mental prison.
Thich Nhat Hanh is quite the expert on this topichttps://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/biography/embed/#?secret=aiofwowOZG
You can buy his wonderful books here and Amazon
I bought his book ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’ 12 years ago and it is my most treasured possession. Don’t be put off by a book that talks about meditation because life is a meditation, not mediation is life.
Roditch.wordpress.com 2021
