Mindfully being real

Photograph by George Angus

This coming weekend we have our first mindfulness retreat here at Barrowfield.

Earlier this week the one motor of the planer thicknesser burnt out. A major crisis. I am right in the middle of a big woodworking project and working with a very tight budget after December’s quiet and bonuses that were paid out to the employees. I knew for a fact that the motor either had to be replaced by a new one or if I am lucky it could be repaired. Either way, the project is delayed by days and money has to be spent.

Lately Matilda and I often talk about the wide-spread perception that mindfulness and reality clash. A large number of people believe that the two actually just don’t go together: “Interesting, this mindfulness-thing you’re busy with. Maybe I’ll look into that when I’m retired and have more time. For now I do not have that luxury. I have to provide for my family and work hard to earn a living.”

We do not have to quit our day job to be mindful. What happens is that mindfulness helps us to perceive our reality differently.

I still had to strip the thicknesser and true to my nature I worried that the specific motor was beyond repair. 

However, after my meditation practice on Wednesday morning and becoming aware once again that I am part of a large universe, and that everything is harvest, it was with a much deeper sense of peace that I set out mindfully for Newcastle. Translated into practical terms: instead of running around in a total panic and allowing my vivid imagination to conjure up images of everything that will go wrong, to rather stay in the moment, do the next thing that has to be done and trust the process.

Lo and behold, the motor is being rewired as we speak. At a reasonable price. I’ll have it back early next week. In the process I’ve discovered a part of Newcastle that I was not familiar with. And I’ve met a man who is passionate about his work, a tradesman in the true sense of the word. He also asked me to quote him on a lounge suite.

I do not want to earn my living in any other way than by being mindful. It will be too boring. In my meticulous planning I will not leave enough room for the element of surprise and wonder. And I know for a fact that I will constantly fall into the trap of believing that it’s all up to me. Now that's losing touch with reality.

George