What's really important?

Money?
Love?
Work?
Family?
The earth?

Have you worked it out?

Is there anything to work out?

Of course there is.

You're here once.

Now.

Not next week. Or next year.

Seriously, when was the last time you escaped from your ordinary life to invite a more beautiful question than "What's next?".

Trust me, it will be well worth the investment of time.

You might think others can help. They can't. Only you know what needs your focus. (The doing comes later.)

There's no right or wrong place to start but chances are (by now) you've worked out what keeps coming up again and again but gets none of your attention.

In my case, it's being an artist. Oh sure, I could have chosen any number of things but I know that that's where more of my life and energy needs to be invested if I'm going to make better sense of all this thrashing.

What about you?

What's the one thing you should be doing or not doing beyond everything else?

Enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Julian

Comments

Kindness et al.

Now, more than ever, we need to find a way through this collapsing world . Yes, there are lots of strategies, templates and exhortation we could employ but, truthfully, we know in our hearts that if only there was a little less hate and a lot more kindness the world would be a much better place - in so many ways. Then again, the trope has been done to death and look where it's got us. Not very far. Perhaps it is that we've an aversion to opening ourselves up in case we're taken advantage of or worse still. Perhaps it is that we don't feel it. It's more act than truth. Perhaps there's no quid pro quo. (Does there or should there be?) Truth is, I've no more an idea than you why the world is too often riven with a lust for hate when it should be in swoon to kindness. That doesn't (of course) stop me wondering. And wonder I will alongside all those other issues that continue to haunt me. Blessings, Julian

Back to nature

I'm just back from my daily walk with Alfie and Fidget. I managed to stay dry right until the end when the heavens opened; Alfie didn't mind; Fidget looked like she'd had enough. For me, the daily walk isn't just a way of raising my heart rate and enjoying the fresh air -- both very important -- it's a way to connect, deeply. In fact, I'd say it was in the same vein as meditation. There's always a temptation to get it over with, but these days I nearly always take a moment to stop, breathe in and out with a strong sense of purpose and listen to my environs. It grounds me. I don't take this for granted. I realise how fortunate I am to have Dartmoor on my doorstep and to have the time to walk this way. Actually, I'm pretty sure that even if I didn't live here, I'd find a way to connect with nature, even if I had to do it in some other way, e.g. gardening. Think about your own experience with nature. I'd be very surprised if...

Mindfulness isn't...

A label to add to the other two dozen you've amassed. Something to sell as a new productivity tool. A badge of honour. A way to make people inferior if they don't get 'it'. A practice that only finds home in one area of your life. A way to exit from life's travails. A way to talk and act differently to true self. A course, retreat or YouTube video. No, mindfulness is everything. It's life. But not the life where you live on the edge between this moment and the one you're chasing. Mindfulness is now. This breath -- the in, the out and the rest in between. It means above all paying attention, fully. If you need a question to inform your mindfulness practice, try the first koan from the Mondo Zen Training Manual: "Is it possible to just purely listen? Can you listen without an opinion?" You can shorten this to one word: listen. Yes, that's it. Mindfulness is to listen. Listen. Listen. Listen. Have a w...

Julian Summerhayes

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