In my hut this spring
There is nothing—
There is everything!
~Yamaguchi Sodo
Everyone thinks she is supposed to be perfect, but that is not the point of becoming mindful. It is the commitment to return to the bite, the moment, the direct experience of eating. That is the intent of a mindfulness practice. No matter how many times we leave the experience and no matter how many times we judge ourselves, we make a commitment to return to the direct experience of eating.
~Ronna Kabatznick
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This morning I glanced out of the sliding glass door and saw a chipmunk sitting on my terrace. As my cats will attest, there are several of them that scamper back and forth. So it’s not unusual to see a chipmunk or two scurrying around out there. But the reason I noticed this chipmunk was because he was not scampering; he was just sitting. Just sitting and watching. I felt compelled to watch him watching.
I saw his dark eyes seeing as he slowly turned his little head. Instead of the familiar and quick “What’s that?” or “Is that danger, gotta run” head movements, I watched him taking his time, gazing at what there was to be seen.
Then a thought popped into my head. “Oh no, maybe he’s hurt, and that’s why he’s not darting away. Maybe I should do something to help?” I became aware of a sensation of tightness in my chest, and I recognized
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