For today’s Mindful Mondays post, I would like to share with you a quote from Sharon Salzberg, esteemed meditation and mindfulness teacher, as well as co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.
“Mindfulness has a lot of benefits. One is simply connecting with our lives as we live them. If you drink your coffee while reading your paper, and checking your emails, with the TV on, that can lead to you feeling perpetually disconnected and unfulfilled. You may think, you need to get different coffee, or grind it differently, and that would make you feel more satisfied, instead of realizing, ‘Maybe the first step is really actually inhabiting our life and really connecting to it every once in awhile.’ Sometimes, just drink the cup of coffee and experience it fully.”
Mindfulness is a process of coming back, over and over, to the present moment, fully and without distraction. Over the past few weeks, this has been a struggle for me. With my recent initiation into the world of social media, facebook, twitter, and blogging, I find myself feeling fragmented and continuously pulled towards my computer and phone. I am often guilty of texting, tweeting, emailing, and posting while drinking my coffee. I am doing everything except drinking my coffee. I found Sharon’s quote to be a powerful reminder: that actually drinking coffee, and being aware of drinking my coffee–are the most direct routes to feeling connected to the present moment.
Wishing you a peaceful Monday, and a week filled with grace and compassion towards yourselves and others.
With gratitude,
Monisha