Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a difficult thing to understand because of its inherent subjective nature. More than anything I see most of the people are confused on what to expect from being mindful. More than anything mindfulness is a tool to understand the truth about self and the world. Although modern world is more focused on short term benefits of it, I can only imagine it as a tool to prepare someone for death, just like the philosophy for that matter. What is to be mindful? Here In this article, I reflect upon some thought process which happened before mindfulness kicks in. As after mindfulness, it just gives nothing. Thoughts about the past, and about the future are hindrance to mindfulness only as long as you are not aware of them.
Seagulls and sand.
It is a windy afternoon. The sky is full of Clouds only Apparent when you are in the beach. You look at the Sky, patchy clouds trying to hide the bluish background of the sky. And from these patches the sinking sun try to release its final bits of right above the church. You couldn't help noticing seagulls up in the sky hovering like drones. They are not in search of food. Just chilling in the breeze, just like you. But up there it is so much wind that there is no need to flap their wings. It's easier than walking, like gliders they stand still facing the wind, just occasionally to turn back and loop, to stop themselves falling asleep in the midair. Only competition for them so far is a solo kite sent by kids, but haven't reached up to them so far, hence there is no real race. Crows are just land animals from seagulls' point of view. And you are sure they do not bother even to look down. Why should they, everything is visible from there and seagulls couldn't ask for more.
Down on the sand it's a different story altogether. Crows are nasty in their tactics. They have learned harsh lessons from the fishermen to survive the sand. They stand together like a pack of wild dogs, in another life, to hunt for a snack. To Sanch a lunch packet or a piece of bread from a tourist. Dry salty sand is their home, and there is no beauty in it, just a struggle for survival. They roam back and forth from huts to the sea.
You walk past them and face the sea yourself. It's the same old sea, and endless waves. And mind is rushing with waves after waves and only after minutes you realize that you have been day dreaming. Just in front of the sea. It is like being at a play. "Life of pie" being played in front of you by world renowned artists. Yet you are blindfolded, and ears plugged. You do not feel the wind or the waves as you are looking at the misguided drama of your own mind. Why you ask yourself. Why there is no peace, but chaos?
You see a child playing besides his mother. Digging holes in the sand with his feet. Does he think about yesterday? You answer yourself. Unlikely. Maybe he even doesn't know what yesterday is. He is not worried about the fights which he had with his siblings. And there is no relevance of that to this moment. This moment is about happiness, of digging holes in the sad, and only that. Does he worry about future. Surely not. It seems his mother's dreams are not yet painted in his mind. Maybe later, maybe in another ten years he would start to have an ambitious dream. Then only he would start worrying and being anxious about success and failure. Yet at this moment nobody is capable of stealing his minutes. Not even yesterday, not even tomorrow.
Songs of the sea.
You give a sigh, as your eyes drift back towards the sea. You realize why you cannot hear the song of the sea. You have been deaf by the past, bocking the sound waves reaching your eardrums. No matter how loud the sea is. And you put them down mindfully on the sand, and there it is. The eternal song of the waves at last.
You realize why you cannot see the waves and bubbles dancing in front of you. You were blindfolded by tomorrow. Endless possibilities opportunities and events which are never part of the show now. There is no point watching the trailers of tomorrow's movie while you are at the cinema today. And you decide to put down the blinders on the sand and voila. The real play only begins now. With both sound and pictures.
You let them calm down your thoughts and let them drift like clouds above. You let yourself be a seagull hovering above everything. Forget that you have been a crow struggling in the sand. And come back with an empty mind of a child gaining nothing.
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