Remembering the Miracle

Contacting the richness of sensory experience, with mindful attention is always its own reward. It might be the simple pleasure of an in-breath, or noticing a painful emotional contraction in the body, or perhaps a passing moment looking into the eyes of the cashier at the grocery store….the particularities of the context don’t actually matter, but the quality of attention we bring to these moments can be a great gift to ourselves and others.

It is actually possible to welcome sensory experience, in any moment, as it is. Bringing the attentional capacities of mindfulness - concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity - to this moment, enables us to fully experience the miracle that is our existence.

It can be easy to forget the miracle of life.

It can be overwhelming to look at the state of the world today. I think it’s important that we make room for overwhelm, doubt, and even depression. What if we normalized depression rather than pathologized it? If we are honest, I think we can admit that it would be strange, even surprising, if depression weren’t rampant in today’s society. So let’s not be hard on ourselves when we feel beat down or overwhelmed by difficult circumstances. The challenges of our time are an invitation to bring more and more (and more and more) care to our situation: the one we are in right here and now.

If we’re ever feeling stuck or in a rut, most of us could benefit from some form of help in order to find our way through it, and there’s a lot of good help to be had these days: we know more today about the human nervous system and the basic ingredients for happiness than we’ve ever known before. It is actually a wonderful time to be alive! And let’s not forget that one of the most effective ways to help ourselves is to help others, but not at our own expense. If we try to help others at our own expense, no matter how beautiful our intentions, it is unlikely that we are embodying wellness in a sustainable way. It is not selfish to put on our own oxygen mask first.

Mindfulness meditation is one of the most potent tools I’ve discovered to help me with putting on my own oxygen mask first. With patient practice over time, I’m beginning to recognize that my mindfulness practice is the oxygen mask. An equanimous relationship with Beingness itself is an essential ingredient for feeling nourished and available to the fullness of life: both the dreadful and the wonderful, both the darkness and the light. The pscyho-spiritual rewards of concentration, sensory clarity, and equanimity are completely and utterly reliable, and not only that: they are ever-presently available. But for most of us, it requires training to recognize these basic elements of mindful awareness.

This year, in addition to my musical projects, I am dreaming into new ways to share this practice. In the meantime, you might check out my resources page, and let’s keep taking one compassionate step at a time, with care for ourselves, each other, and our dear planet.