One thing we learn in mindfulness practice: we can always begin again.
Each step: a new step.
Each breath: a new breath.
Each moment: a new moment we haven’t experienced before.
Take this moment right now. Perhaps you’re sitting in a familiar place, reading these words from a screen, as the body breathes and the sun shines through the window. Or perhaps you find yourself curled up with unfamiliar stars overhead. Wherever you are, when you pause and recognize this moment as something new, what happens?
Perhaps there’s a sharpening of the senses. The dullness of routine or the certainty of expectation falling away, replaced by the brightness of curiosity.
Perhaps, after so many moments running together, propelling you from one thing to the next, you find a sense of space. In this new moment: an opening.
This moment is not the one before - nor the one you may have anticipated. It’s a moment you don’t yet know. There can be freedom in this not knowing - we get to be explorers of our own lives, discovering new territories, charting new paths for ourselves.
Not knowing can also be frightening. When we begin again, we set aside our judgements and expectations. We go in blind, not knowing if what lies ahead is risky or safe.
I’m reminded of this in the past two days as I begin to put weight on my leg for the first time since it was broken. It’s exciting and strange. Each step is very much a new step - a new territory of sensation and discovery, as I feel out my limits, moment to changing moment. Trust, as a colleague and friend mentioned recently, is a key ingredient in the process. But trust doesn't happen overnight. Beginning again may mean the slow growth or rebuilding of trust.
As we restart our community classes, I invite us to bring a spirit of beginning again. We'll move slowly through our mindfulness practices, feeling out what it's like start a moment anew. When difficulty arises, we'll see if we can be kind and patient with ourselves. We'll explore how we might encourage a sense of trust as we step into the unknown territory of the present moment.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Hannah
*We've considered this theme before, but in the spirit of beginning again, an old theme can be new again :)
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