Friday, May 18, 2012

A Walk In The Park

Yesterday, after quietly eating lunch at my desk, I decided to go outside for some fresh air. Since I am in a building with sealed windows I sometimes feel like I am breathing twenty year old air. When I got outside my first thought was how much I enjoy working downtown. I love that there are so many restaurants within walking distance to say nothing of all the available green space across the street from my office. Yesterday was a perfect day. There was a cool breeze, the sun was shining bright, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the aroma of cooked food filled the air. Most days there is a hot dog vendor on the sidewalk and a recent additional is a variety of local food trucks. I crossed the street and walked along Waterfront Park. A group of young girls, all dressed in veils, were gleefully running in and out of the water jets. I decided to walk along the river. Other people were doing the same. I spotted two ducks swimming against the current but seemingly enjoying themselves. For a brief moment I thought how most of us also swim against the current but don’t seem to enjoy it like the ducks. I was tempted to sit on a park bench and watch the barges go up and down the river but I knew if I did I might forget to come back to work. Walks in the park and along the river provide me with some of the perfect moments that I often speak about. While walking and thinking it occurred to me that we have different names for the same experience. Mindfulness, Zen moments, Flow, and Contemplation are all really the same thing. Mindfulness and Zen are Buddhist terms. Flow is a term coined by a psychologist to describe the experience of being in the moment so completely that you lose all sense of time and space. Contemplation is a Christian term to describe what I believe is the same awakened state that Buddhists speak about. For a Christian that awakened state would be an experience of oneness and unity with God. Whatever you call it, it is an experience meant for all. Too many people don’t realize that. It’s not just for the spiritually elite.



1 comment:

S said...

Beautifully written thoughts on spiritualism. I liked how you have described a day in your life with mindfulness.