Thoughts & Practice

I don’t know about you but I often begin my day in my head. I am caught in my thoughts. My thoughts might be about what has been, what will be, what I dreamed about, or even the dishes being out of place; these thoughts become fertile ground for irritation, concern, regret, or anticipation. Thoughts transport me from now so I am not really here; I am somewhere else. To be honest it is what the intellect is designed to do: think. And in general, thinking is about analyzing and synthesizing and categorizing all my sensory data, dividing my thoughts and my attention. Thinking is only one way of knowing and I am more than my thoughts. So I make it my intention to let go of my thoughts while I am preparing breakfast. Thoughts arise and when/if I catch them, I practice letting them go.

As I make breakfast there are often spaces between preparations and before anyone comes to the table. In those often brief windows of time, I look out the kitchen window; I just look. As I am standing, I sense my feet on the kitchen floor, grounded there. I focus on my breath as it enters my nostrils. I savor the touch of my hands on the counter, the warmth of dish water as I clean the pans, the aroma of the coffee, and the coolness of my first glass of water. I listen for and hear the sounds of the house, of a dog barking on another street. I let my body connect with the moment without analyzing or judging it

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By the time we assemble at the breakfast table (whoever is there), I am less in my head. And I find I have a sense of being Present to the day. The body is a wonderful gift to us and one of our three ways of knowing: body, emotion, and intellect. The body can help remind us, remind me, of now and here. After all, it’s where I am/we are.