To Be Or Not To Be
Any well-founded witch can appreciate the teachings of the Buddha. The Eightfold Path and other basic Buddhist teachings promote the practice of meditation to reconnect with the vital energy of self. Relaxing the vigilant mind’s ego allows us the freedom to create our own happiness. As we release our ego, we increase our awareness of truly “living in the moment.” I honor and respect the practice of mindfulness as a way of life, but I wonder if the Buddha has had to change a diaper like my nephew had yesterday after eating prunes for breakfast. When I am up to my elbows in poop, the concept of ‘living in the moment’ seems overrated.
The practice of ‘mindfulness’ offers the opportunity to balance the ego’s need “to do” with our innate capacity “to be.” I appreciate the concept, but there are some moments in our day-to-day life when ‘being’ in the moment presents a challenge.
Anson’s ‘prune incident’ occurred in the midst of our beagle’s need to throw-up the contents of the bathroom waste basket that she had apparently ingested earlier. Being that I was the only adult in attendance for the Bean Household Waste Elimination Festival, I questioned the intrinsic value of reveling in each moment. I wonder if it is not more productive to view these not-so-pleasant moments as occasions to focus on what may be in the future, instead of what is occurring in the present?
In January, I ran a half-marathon with my Aunt Cindy. Completing the thirteen miles turned out to be easier than I had originally anticipated, but there were moments when masquerading as a volunteer who stood on the sidelines seemed an attractive alternative. Aunt Cindy is almost twenty years older than I am. Due to the fact that she was maintaining a determined pace, my ego would not allow me to sneak off and pretend that I was a spectator, but I did entertain the notion somewhere around mile seven.
During mile eight is when I formulated my own compromise between the wisdom of ‘being in the moment’ and the desire to finish the damn race. It is the language of self-talk that becomes most relevant when your knees are suffering, or you have poop all over the front of your shirt.
“I am content with myself, no matter what is happening right now” has been changed to, “I am content with myself and will be EVEN HAPPIER when this is over.”
The process is never as significant as the outcome.
