“Do you still think the breath is boring?

“Do you still think the breath is boring?

A Zen student complained to his teacher that focusing on the breath during meditation was boring. The teacher submerged the student’s head under water until the student kicked and struggled to come up for air, at which point the master released his grip, looked the student in the eye, and asked, “Do you still think the breath is boring?”

Do you think we can we train ourselves to appreciate everything in our lives without having to go without it for a while? It would take shifting our perspective from feeling entitled to the time we have on this earth to seeing time as a gift from a mysterious stranger.

The reason I suggest considering our time a “gift” is because we are already familiar with the feeling of gratitude when someone gives us a present. But here's a gratitude exercise... imagine your car breaks down during a very difficult time in your life, leaving you with no way to get to work, for example, when someone offers you a free bicycle so you don’t lose your job. 

Would you be grateful? What if it’s not a brand-new bike? What if it's old and rusty without any gears? 

Would you turn down this generous offer because it isn’t up to your standards, or would you be extremely grateful for the possibilities that this less-than-perfect solution represents? 

Because life sometimes gives us gifts like that. Heck, life itself can feel like a less-than-ideal situation.It is often painful, challenging, and uncomfortable, but it’s free time nonetheless.

If we look at everything as a gift, then a rusty bike and a new car are equally valuable. Just think about that word: Valuable. It means the value is in moving forward, not in the form of transportation (whether it’s a bus pass, a skateboard, or your own two feet if you’re fortunate enough to have them and skillful enough to appreciate them). This practice goes beyond seeing the glass as half full or half empty, it’s about being grateful to have a glass in the first place.

The antidote to our sense of entitlement is gratitude, and I truly believe we can learn to appreciate the difficult times in our lives just as much, if not more than, the smooth sailing. And we don’t need a near-death experience to appreciate our lives, do we? After considering each moment a gift, we would stop wasting time, and we would certainly stop thinking of ways to kill it.

Your challenge for today is to not only think of everything for which you are grateful, but contemplate WHY you are grateful for it, and how it affects your life. Marinate in that feeling of gratitude until it comes out your pores in the form of a smile, kindness, and generosity.

So be grateful for each breath, go ahead and put your head underwater if you need a reminder