Doing the Simple Things

I am sitting at work feeling distracted, feeling bored, feeling half awake, feeling disconnected. This is a lousy way to go through the day. Even though I would rather be elsewhere, letting myself slide into this mindset isn’t helpful.

The gap between the mundane and the spiritual needs to come together. The spiritual experience has to come to work with me or there will always be conflict. As much as I dream of it, I doubt very much that I will suddenly have enough money to buy land and build a home outright. So what can be done to improve the work experience?

We have to be mindful to do the simple things.

First of all, let’s remember to breathe consciously. One word used to describe the in-breath is inspiration. Stopping the constant conversation going on in our head is so important. A single conscious breath is all it takes to wake up from that place. The simple act of breathing the air around us can help us find “inspiration”.

Food is another way to wake up to the fact we are alive (and no matter where we are, that is a truly remarkable thing). Look at your food. Touch it. Where did it come from? Who grew it? What has its life process been? What stories does it tell you? Then eat it with a sense of reverence and gratitude. It may be simple food but simplicity and sanctity, are not mutually exclusive terms. Taste your food fully. It is the most amazing gift from Mother Earth.

Have you ever half-listened to a co-worker or customer during a phone call? Is this treating the other with respect? Is this way of approach interaction honorable? Let the phone ringing remind us that we are engaging in relationship to another soul. It is through these interactions we come to understand ourselves. It is how we learn. So even the most annoying phone calls are in fact acts of spiritual learning and experience.

Finally, stand up and move around! We sit on the way to work. If we have a desk job, we sit all day. We sit on the ride home. We sit at dinner. And then we sit some more to relax. Moving the body is about the best way to awaken to our soul’s journey. Movement allows us to feel our whole being. So get off the chair and make yourself more alive. As soon as I post this, I am going for a walk!

Not the most insightful post but there it is :>) If our spiritual practices get complicated, they are doomed to be ineffective. Anyone have any other simple suggestions for making our work day a more alive, interesting, and spiritual activity?