(This post assumes you’ve have read what I wrote last week on “Taming the Elephant” on mindfulness.) One of the tools Thich Nhat Hanh gives for present awareness is to constantly ask yourself the question “What am I doing?” Less in the “what am I doing with my life?”-existential-kind-of-way, but more in the very literal “what am I actually doing right this instant?”
Once I asked a well-known heart surgeon about his interest in hiking. I knew he enjoyed hiking, and I was assuming that he probably hiked in nature to balance the many hours he spent in the sterile operating room. His response initially surprised me, but now makes perfect sense. He told me that in fact he really enjoyed the hours he spent doing surgery because during those hours his attention would be fully centered on his intricate surgery, and there would be no random movement of the mind that would be an unnecessary drain of energy. Similarly, when I visit a city for the first time, when I come back to my hotel room after a long day of sightseeing, I find my mind to still be active and excited even if the body is fully exhausted. I attribute that to the mind having been focused and present for the entire day. The present has the potential of being a source of inspirational energy. We just need to be present to meet it!
Once I asked a well-known heart surgeon about his interest in hiking. I knew he enjoyed hiking, and I was assuming that he probably hiked in nature to balance the many hours he spent in the sterile operating room. His response initially surprised me, but now makes perfect sense. He told me that in fact he really enjoyed the hours he spent doing surgery because during those hours his attention would be fully centered on his intricate surgery, and there would be no random movement of the mind that would be an unnecessary drain of energy. Similarly, when I visit a city for the first time, when I come back to my hotel room after a long day of sightseeing, I find my mind to still be active and excited even if the body is fully exhausted. I attribute that to the mind having been focused and present for the entire day. The present has the potential of being a source of inspirational energy. We just need to be present to meet it!
Great post! Relatedly, when using online products, good to ask yourself “what is this?” “Why am I seeing this?”