This evening I'd like to ask you to consider a few questions. When was the last time you really enjoyed every bite of food during a meal without distraction? Did you enjoy preparing the meal? Did someone you love prepare it for you? Did either of you set the table lovingly to make the meal extra special? Did you select the ingredients with anticipation about how the meal was going to look, taste and smell? Really think back to the last time you were aware of the experience of an entire meal. It didn't have to be a fancy meal, just one that you can recall all the way through from beginning to end. One that you truly took the time to enjoy. When you can completely recall that experience hold onto it for a moment. Does it put a smile on your face? Being present in that moment completely was a form of mindfulness. In that moment you were aware. In that moment you were living your life.
Now ask yourself, how many meals do I consume with complete thoughtlessness? How many meals come out of a box made in a factory? How many meals do I eat while completely distracted watching television or talking on the phone? How many times can you honestly say, I have no idea what I ate, what it was like or what I was doing when I ate the meal? Were you living your life or just going through the motions? And if that is true of the food you put in your body, what about all the other activities that take place during the day? Are you there or in auto-pilot?
I don't ask these questions because I need to know what you ate. And I am not suggesting that you should be overly attached to the senses. I use this example to illustrate the way we often move from activity to activity thoughtlessly or, more accurately, mindlessly. And therefore we are not really living @ all.
We. Should. All. Slow. Down.
Unplug. Have a picnic. Or @ least take the time to bite into a crisp, sweet apple and really experience it. Meditation doesn't have to end on the mat. In fact, the purpose of meditation is to learn to live everyday all day long - with awareness.
Shanti,
S.
Now ask yourself, how many meals do I consume with complete thoughtlessness? How many meals come out of a box made in a factory? How many meals do I eat while completely distracted watching television or talking on the phone? How many times can you honestly say, I have no idea what I ate, what it was like or what I was doing when I ate the meal? Were you living your life or just going through the motions? And if that is true of the food you put in your body, what about all the other activities that take place during the day? Are you there or in auto-pilot?
I don't ask these questions because I need to know what you ate. And I am not suggesting that you should be overly attached to the senses. I use this example to illustrate the way we often move from activity to activity thoughtlessly or, more accurately, mindlessly. And therefore we are not really living @ all.
We. Should. All. Slow. Down.
Unplug. Have a picnic. Or @ least take the time to bite into a crisp, sweet apple and really experience it. Meditation doesn't have to end on the mat. In fact, the purpose of meditation is to learn to live everyday all day long - with awareness.
Shanti,
S.
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