There is a pleasantly rich wisdom in every moment, we are just usually too distracted to notice it.
This evening I had a wild breakthrough while I was combing my hair out. I usually rush through this task, taking a brush and yanking through the clumps of hair that have tied themselves together over the course of the day, pulling a lot of it out while I do this. Tonight though as I picked up the comb I was reminded of a concept that has been weaving itself ever more deeply into my life: conscious awareness. Tich Nhat Hahn explains this with a beautiful example in his book, The Art of Power. He tells of his Guru asking him to go do him a favor, but when he opens the door to leave the room, his Guru calls him back and asks him to open the door again, but this time to do it open the door consciously. I had to really chew on this awhile, initially feeling like it was beyond me to attempt to bring such a level of conscious awareness into my life. Things happen too fast! Even at a deliciously slow pace of life, I can still catch myself too distracted and busy to open doors consciously. Still, I tucked this piece of wisdom away and of course, it began to show up.
Tonight, as I combed through my hair I decided to think about only that, combing through my hair. I let go of anything else I had been doing up to that point and anything I would go on to do next. I relaxed most of my body, except the parts that I was using (arms, legs & core to stand). I focused on the simple task at hand, combing through my hair. With this very deep awareness, I actually had an entirely different experience with task. I found a sense of enjoyment out of pulling through each knot, slowly without yanking any hair out. I didn't think that was possible! I realized that by taking only little bits of hair at a time, the comb seamlessly pulls through the knots without pulling too hard and leaving all my hair attached. I continued that patter, of slow, conscious combing all the way around my head and finished with a soft, silky head of hair.
What I realized is that by cultivating a sense of conscious awareness to this very simple and routine task, helped me to slow down and actually enjoy what I was doing. This awareness helped me to recognize a pattern I sometimes fall into, which now that it has been brought into the light, I can practice shifting.
Maybe this all sounds a bit silly, getting so excited about combing my hair. But let me tell you, when you're able to feel contentment and joy out of such a simple task as combing your hair, life can be a pretty blissful experience. When conscious awareness is cultivated into our every interaction, every movement through the day, our transitions from one task to the next and into the tasks themselves, only then do we start to become active participants in our own lives.
I consciously and graciously choose to actively participate in the raw, authentic experience that life offers me .
Only when we are completely present, can we be truly fulfilled.
