Fresh Start
Good Morning,
By living in the present moment instead of reviewing the past or designing the future, I have learned to maintain (most of the time) a positive emotional environment despite some small annoyances that occur. I have noticed that when things do go differently, distress is usually short-lived, as I’m now able to begin afresh by creating a new attitude. The idea of new beginnings is important to me for living in the moment.
I have talked a lot this week about training the mind and to achieve this most rudimentary mental control, which is the opposite of automatic reactive behavior requires one to always watch the mind, tame the mind, then tame it again and again.
I have friends who regularly enjoy playing tennis. The benefits of training our minds to stay present and focused were easily demonstrated in a local tennis tournament where three players handled a similar problem in different ways.
The first player let a serve go which should have been called long, but it wasn't. Caught up in the anger and frustration of losing an important point unfairly, he lost concentration and consequently lost the next point as well.
The second player had a bad call in her favor which gave her match-point. She suddenly thought how close she was to winning -- but how unsatisfying it would be to win on a wrong call. Caught up in thoughts of the future, she lost concentration in the moment and promptly lost her match-point advantage.
The third player also received a wrong call, but she thought, That's history, now concentrate on this rally. She played the next point in the moment and won it.
When we are not here in the now, we are no where and we can serve no real purpose to ourselves or others. Our minds love to create stories, to create dramas and write plays that most likely will never play out. Recognizing this and working towards noting and reversing these habits is one of the greatest challenges one can take on and one of the greatest gifts one can receive.
Have a beautiful day and think on this: Nothing determines who we will become so much as those things we choose to ignore.
Peace and Love, Jim
By living in the present moment instead of reviewing the past or designing the future, I have learned to maintain (most of the time) a positive emotional environment despite some small annoyances that occur. I have noticed that when things do go differently, distress is usually short-lived, as I’m now able to begin afresh by creating a new attitude. The idea of new beginnings is important to me for living in the moment.
I have talked a lot this week about training the mind and to achieve this most rudimentary mental control, which is the opposite of automatic reactive behavior requires one to always watch the mind, tame the mind, then tame it again and again.
I have friends who regularly enjoy playing tennis. The benefits of training our minds to stay present and focused were easily demonstrated in a local tennis tournament where three players handled a similar problem in different ways.
The first player let a serve go which should have been called long, but it wasn't. Caught up in the anger and frustration of losing an important point unfairly, he lost concentration and consequently lost the next point as well.
The second player had a bad call in her favor which gave her match-point. She suddenly thought how close she was to winning -- but how unsatisfying it would be to win on a wrong call. Caught up in thoughts of the future, she lost concentration in the moment and promptly lost her match-point advantage.
The third player also received a wrong call, but she thought, That's history, now concentrate on this rally. She played the next point in the moment and won it.
When we are not here in the now, we are no where and we can serve no real purpose to ourselves or others. Our minds love to create stories, to create dramas and write plays that most likely will never play out. Recognizing this and working towards noting and reversing these habits is one of the greatest challenges one can take on and one of the greatest gifts one can receive.
Have a beautiful day and think on this: Nothing determines who we will become so much as those things we choose to ignore.
Peace and Love, Jim
Labels: Beginning, Mindfulness, Starting Over
posted by The Daily Buddha at 7:02 AM
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