Dear Diary,<\/p>\n
Sometimes what makes something \u2018click\u2019 is humble rather than grand.\u00a0 In my previous piece, I discussed how scarcity is often manufactured and is not itself a symbol of desirability.\u00a0 I was recently presented with a fresh loaf of olive bread straight from the oven.\u00a0 If anything shouldn\u2019t be scarce, it is bread!\u00a0 This olive loaf reminded me of the difference between real food and the garbage we find on store shelves and in some restaurants.\u00a0 This bread had all of five (or so) ingredients and was absolutely amazing.\u00a0 It was fragrant, tasty, and that wonderful kind of spongy \u2013 it bounced back when you pressed on it, and it was the best kind of satisfying.\u00a0 I felt good eating it, and afterward I felt good all day, rather than hungry a short time later or bloated immediately after.<\/p>\n
I have always had a fondness for fresh bread and also for olives.\u00a0 While my memory often has tragically significant gaps, I can\u2019t recall ever enjoying both of these things so much in a single format like this before.\u00a0 It was a simple yet revolutionary concept, extending far beyond a culinary revelation.\u00a0 The olive bread ultimately got me thinking about the trappings of spiritual practices.\u00a0 For example, the idea of Mindful Eating, wherein we slow down to appreciate the origins of the ingredients and the labor of everyone involved in bringing the food to our plate, and we try to chew more so we can savor each bite, et al.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing inherently wrong with any of that, but if people take it to extremes, feeling compelled to perform such a ritual at every meal, we\u2019ve stripped the exercise of its purpose and replaced it with something else.\u00a0 We end up \u2018going through the motions\u2019 out of a sense of obligation; it becomes performative instead of a genuine spiritual practice.<\/p>\n
Enlightenment cannot be attained through performative acts, much as other faiths regard the afterlife and artificial faith.\u00a0 When we strip away the ceremony, what is left?\u00a0 In my \u20182025 : A Year of Compassion in Review\u2019 piece, I briefly mentioned the Zen practice of \u2018Ordinary Mind,\u2019 and I feel it bears repeating here.\u00a0 Our minds already have the tools they need, even if we need to return our thoughts to the path regularly (Mindfulness) or find a way to reduce the abstract into something we can grasp until we\u2019re ready to release the incomplete back into the abstract.\u00a0 George Carlin gave us a quote I find increasingly relevant over time: \u201cWe think in language. The quality of our thoughts and ideas can only be as good as the quality of our language.\u201d\u00a0 Sometimes we need to put things in language to process before we can let them go from the limitations of language.<\/p>\n
We create problems where none exist.\u00a0 Our minds often know what to do; we just need to stop interfering with them.\u00a0 I used to think having music playing almost constantly while I write or do chores limited my ability to be present with the activity.\u00a0 I\u2019ve since realized by singing and dancing on autopilot, or taking micro-breaks when something about the music caught my conscious attention, I was diverting the active part of my mind just enough to cease interfering \u2013 to stop overthinking.\u00a0 When I write (this piece included), the words flow onto the page with no internal monologue (*1); I understand the overall feel I want to convey, then I let myself get lost in the right direction, knowing I\u2019ll find (develop) the right place in the end.\u00a0 What I lack in words floating around my mind, I make up for with strong emotions and a lack of fear, making decisions.<\/p>\n
It is liberating to look at ourselves in the mirror, knowing we already have the tools; we merely need to get out of our way.\u00a0 For me, music helps me strip away the excess thoughts \u2013 the idle mental chatter that is little more than the same words (or close variants thereof) recycled repeatedly.\u00a0 Others may focus better in silence.\u00a0 I\u2019ve encountered people who focus better with scented candles, and I know some who perform better wearing certain clothes over others.\u00a0 The idea is the same: to listen effectively when our minds speak to us with clarity.\u00a0 Our minds tell us when it is time to eat, for example, and yet so often we talk back: \u2018No, I\u2019m going to keep working, and I\u2019ll get to food later,\u2019 and then wonder why we get tired or irritable.\u00a0 Even the long-term yearnings that remain after all else has changed, that goal or dream that has been floating around for what feels like forever, could be a distant lighthouse in a stormy night, offering quiet guidance amongst a turbulent backdrop.<\/p>\n
The olive bread wasn\u2019t just a delicious meal that kept me satisfied for most of the day. It was a tangible metaphor, a reminder to strip away the excess of ceremony and ensure whatever practices I\u2019m engaged in, I\u2019m doing so authentically, with no unnecessary layers between me and my objective.\u00a0 In the case of Mindfulness and Meditation, the \u2018unnecessary layers\u2019 are often ones we place upon ourselves.\u00a0 However, when I think of things like churches, corporations, and government, I feel sad regarding all the \u2018unnecessary layers\u2019 others impose upon us\u2014a problem for another piece.<\/p>\n
Listen To Yourself; You Are Worth It!<\/p>\n
reBLUEvinate!<\/p>\n
(*1) Another combat consequence is all the things interfering with my short and long-term memory capabilities also interfere with my internal \u2018voices.\u2019 I don\u2019t typically mind, as it has taught me to quiet myself, listen, and be ready to receive the answer. If I know the answer, it will materialize; if I don\u2019t, it won\u2019t.\u00a0 However, when I have that anxious pressure in my solar plexus, it can be hard to discharge.\u00a0 I think softly but feel strongly.\u00a0 Win some, lose some.<\/p>\n
(*1b) If I consciously \u2018pump\u2019 words into my mind, I can hear a voice \u2013 but I don\u2019t have them bouncing around in the same way others do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Diary, Sometimes what makes something \u2018click\u2019 is humble rather than grand.\u00a0 In my previous piece, I discussed how scarcity is often manufactured and is not itself a symbol of desirability.\u00a0 I was recently presented with a fresh loaf of olive bread straight from the oven.\u00a0 If anything shouldn\u2019t be scarce, it is bread!\u00a0 This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[304,337],"tags":[340],"class_list":["post-240478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dear-diary","category-the-mindfulness-journey","tag-340"],"yoast_head":"\n