“If only I had…”

Oh, my goodness – how often have we all muttered these words? Looking to add a condition to happiness, rather than embracing this world just as it is.

It’s a means for us to cope, or to withstand – these subtle ‘gaps’ within our mindfulness practice.

Likewise, it can become one our greatest stumbling blocks to inner peace.

When I first started my meditation practice, I resisted the urge to reflect on these thoughts and emotions. I had convinced myself that they were contrary to my purpose, and – as such, did my very best to push them away.

Though, in retrospect I suppose I had yet to understand – that, the pain of seeing what was in my heart was simply too great.

Dave Barry once wrote, “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize…that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean.”

Mindfulness practice is much like the ocean. At first, we are contented simply looking at the waves – until that moment when mist touches cheek, and we realize… we must go deeper still.

Mindfulness is an *opening* of senses, my darlings – a deep breath, or taking in, of this – the fullest aspect of our experience. Or, as Thich Nhat Hanh so eloquently shared, it is “the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life.”

“Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives,” he continues. “You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life.”

In looking deeper, we open ourselves fully to the everyday experiences of this life. In doing so, we are final liberated from our fear, our apprehension, our troubles – and we can partake fully in the magnificence that exists just beneath the deep blue ‘sea’.

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