Something that I am trying to practice more purposefully at the moment is not taking life for granted. I’ve been reminded recently how easy it is to get totally caught up in ourselves — in our thoughts, plans, stories, and stresses — and that we forget to appreciate that we are here and we are alive.
It sounds simple, but many of us are too busy and too distracted on a day to day basis to even notice this.
In the buddhist teachings, realising that life is precious and fragile, is known as ‘wise understanding’, and this is the first step on the path towards peace, freedom, and happiness. Being able to recognise that waking up this morning was a miracle, and something that we often take for granted. We tend to live as if we have forever, we assume that we will be here tomorrow and next week and next year, but the reality is, we just don’t know how much time we really have.
This teaching is not intended to scare us, although many of us find it difficult to contemplate our limited time on this earth. It’s also not implying that every day has to be a great one because it might be the last. It’s the ability to pause — each day and to remember that being alive is a wonder. The fact that our heart is beating, our lungs our breathing, and the earth is turning, are all every day miracles. And if we don’t take the time to see it, we'll miss it.
The good thing is, wise understanding is something that we can cultivate. A very simple way to do this is to pause when we wake up, and instead of jumping out of bed and rushing through the day, or getting lost in the thoughts of how tired we are and how much we have to do, we just say to ourselves ‘i’m grateful to have woken up this morning’. Even on the days that feel good and on the days that feel not so good, it is a reminder that we have an opportunity.
A practice like helps us to consider how we want to live. It encourages us to think more deeply about how we want to show up; how we want to think, speak, act; what do we want to do with our time here; what do we want our life to really mean. The more that we think about these things, the more intentionally we live, and the less we take this beautiful life for granted.
