The Un-Mindfulness of Doing
There is no where I have gone today that someone is not
talking on their phone, using their iPad, texting while walking, driving or
sitting on a bench; walking toward me on the sidewalk speaking to the
Blue-Tooth on their ear or listening to sounds on a headset that is connected
to something other than a human person.
There is a kind of awkwardness sitting alone in a café, having
a cup of coffee waiting for your meal and not reading, texting, watching a
nearby television or talking to someone.
You are there by yourself, with yourself and there is no external
entertainment. I will often take my pen
and jot words on my paper napkin-- the start of a poem or essay-- a reminder of
something I will do later in the day. This seems to fill the emptyness. And yet "always doing" is extremely "unmindful." When I sit quietly with my cup of coffee and become aware of this short-lived awkwardness, then I become centered. I have learned to just sit and be quiet. It's not always easy to be mindful in an unmindful world with such an enormous amount of distractions. But mindful quietness is a gracious discipline that brings me peace of mind and closer to God.
I have recently read some poems of the Hindu mystic,
Nanak. As one of the great teachers for
the Sikh community, he placed a great amount of emphasis on the need to wait
for divine truth, to be silent before it.
His poems breathe a deep
tranquility and he speaks of the value of pondering and listening; “Those
who hear, flower forever; From
listening, sin and sorrow disappear…”
He preferred to withdraw from the world rather than engage it. He is said to have spent a great amount of
his lifetime in silence, inactivity and somnolence. It is also said that when he died, his body
turned to vapor and two piles of flowers remained in its place. (1)
Here is part of a poem by Nanak that especially speaks to
me:
If the True
Guru is gracious
Trust becomes
complete.
If the True
Guru is gracious
No one ever
wastes away.
If the True
Guru is gracious
Trouble is a
thing unknown.
If the True
Guru is gracious
One is
painted with God’s hue.
If the True
Guru is gracious
How could
there be fear of death?
If the True
Guru is gracious
One is given
instant joy.
If the True
Guru is gracious
One finds
life’s nine great jewels.
If the True
Guru is gracious
One mingles
with the Truth.
Nights,
seasons, dates, times
Air, water,
fire, hell:
In the midst
of this is the earth,
A place to
rest from travel and practice religion,
And in it
there are manifold lives—
Names without
number, names without end—
They
act. And when they act, notice is taken
By Someone
who is true, whose court rules true,
Whose
council of just ones radiates light
As the
Vigilant One sets his mark on our deeds.
Well done or
ill done—the verdict is found.
So says
Nanak in chant and song.
(1)
Comments and poems taken from “Songs of the
Saints of India,” Hawley and Juergensmeyer
O God, you are my God,