Today marks the begining of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Whether it is a physical residence or the feeling of warmth and acceptance, I imagine that in some way we all want a place to call home. In honor of the home (and those with out), I have a story about my friend, the hornet…
I met Hornet over the summer. He came to live in my backyard, right under the water faucet that I use daily to water my garden. Not a very good spot for me, so when Hornet moved in, my immediate impulse was to grab the can of bug spray my family keeps in the storage shed. But with a slow deep breath in, I decided to watch.
I was amazed at the little guy, by his persistance and skill in creating the home. It made me think, “who am I to evict him from this home” -not to mention the death sentence that would have come along with it. Having been terrified of stinging insects for a good portion of my life, I found this to be a huge step in mindful awareness for me.
Mindfulness is about increasing awareness of what is. It is about living in the moment. Grabbing a can of bug spray would have been based on fear: fear based on a judgement of what could happen. Over the course of several weeks I came in contact with Hornet on a daily basis, and with a regular practice of mindfulness, I was able to live in the moment, and truly enjoy the lessons that Hornet came to bring me.
Today’s Mindfulness Practice
The next time you find your self in judgement of the position of another: be it the next hornet that moves into your yard, or perhaps a needy person that you find begging on the street, may you practice acceptance instead. The trick is to observe the judgement and then allow your mind to act like a slippery slide, freeing the judgement. Don’t judge yourself for judging, just notice the judgement and let it go. Once we let go of judgement it is much easier to practice acceptance.
Post contributed by Mary How. Mary is the owner of Angelfish Creations, LLC and editor of the Flying Fish Blog.
