Contemplative Monday

The source of today's quote comes from the book

'The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (click to learn more about him)

from the Shambhala Pocket Classics.

YOUR TRUE HOME

"Your true home is in the here and the now. It is not limited by time, space, nationality, or race.

Your true home is not an abstract idea; it is something you can touch and live in every moment.

With mindfulness and concentration, the energies of the Buddha, you can find your true home

in the full relaxation of your mind and body in the present moment.

No one can take it away from you. Other people can occupy your country,

they can even put you in prison, but they cannot take away your true home and your freedom.

When we stop speaking and thinking and enjoy deeply our in- and out-breath,

we are enjoying being in our true home and we can touch deeply the wonders of life.

This is the path shown to us by the Buddha. When you breathe in,

you bring all yourself together, body and mind; you become one.

Equipped with that energy of mindfulness and concentration, you may take a step.

And if you can take one mindful step, you can take another and another.

Your true home is a solid reality that you can touch with your feet,

with your hands, and with your mind.

All of us have the seed of mindfulness and concentration in us.

By taking a mindful breath or a mindful step, you can bring your mind back to your body.

In your daily life, your body and mind often go in two different directions.

You are in a state of distraction, mind in one place, body in another.

Your body is putting on a coat but your mind is preoccupied,

caught in the past or the future.

But between your mind and your body there is something: your breath.

As soon as you go home to your breath and you breathe with awareness, 

your body and mind come together very quickly.

While breathing in, you don't think of anything; you just focus your attention on your in-breath.

You focus; you invest 100 percent of yourself in your in-breath.

You become your in-breath.

There is a concentration on your in-breath that will make body and mind come together 

in just one moment.

And suddenly you find yourself fully present, fully alive."