Mind Stream

If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert or a cup of tea, I will be equally incapable of enjoying my dessert or my tea when I finally have them. With the fork in my hand, I will be thinking about what to do next, and the texture and the flavor of the dessert, together with the pleasure of eating it, will be lost. I will be constantly dragged into the future, miss out on life altogether, and never able to live in the present moment.

Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, in “At Home in the World". 

Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our emotions, and we forget we are much more than our emotions. When a strong emotion comes up, we can say, “Hello, my emotion. I know you are there. I will take care of you." Practice mindful, deep, abdominal breathing. Sit down or lie down. Put your hand on your abdomen, just below the navel, and breathe in very deeply, breathe out very deeply. Become aware of the rising and falling of your belly. Stop all thinking, just focus on your breath and your abdomen.

Breathing in, my abdomen is rising. Breathing out, my abdomen is falling.

The more you think about what has upset you, the stronger your emotion will become. So keep bringing your awareness back to your breath as it goes down into the abdomen and out again. Feel the abdomen rising and falling as the air goes in and out. Know that you can handle the storm in you. You are much more than one emotion.

- Thich Nhat Hanh