Every morning, I take the vow above. Sometimes I think “I vow to live fully in this moment.” Sometimes I think I vow to live in this moment fully.” Both are mindful, but there is an interesting difference.
Fully in this Moment… Not any other moment, but THIS one, right HERE. No reminiscing about the past or anticipating/fearing the future.
In this moment fully… All of me, all in. Aware. Awake. Listening and curious. Not making judgments about this moment. Not grasping, rejecting, or ignoring. (In Buddhism, those are called the three poisons.)
Either way, it’s aspirational. That means I intend to do them and don’t, because it’s not easy. The only evidence I have that fully living fully is humanly possible are bodhisattvas (people who have become enlightened) across millennium.
In your journal:
- how do you start your day? (How would you like to start your day?)
- What does mindfulness mean to you?
- “Mindfulness does not resonate for me. I’d rather think and write about…”