What You Can Do Before Being Grateful for 'What Is' - The Way of Mindfulness ①

Through coaching and decluttering,
I wanted to write this down
to put into words what I want to convey.

Both in coaching and in decluttering,
I approach things
with the belief I am about to share.

Why be grateful for 'what is'?

What I ultimately want to convey is
to feel that your true self, just as it is, is precious.

Self-acceptance is easy to say in words, but difficult to achieve.
And it is difficult to accept others when you have not accepted yourself.

However, a little while ago,
because I felt I was no good,
others looked dazzling to me, and that is why I supported them,
thinking I would entrust the paths I could not walk myself to others.

Because of that mindset, I did not mind sacrificing myself,
and even if it might sound condescending to say they had potential while I endured,
I believed that contributing to others who had potential, even while I endured,
was my mission.

And I thought that I, being worthless,
was merely a vessel to connect them,
and that when I fulfilled my mission of connecting them properly, my time would come.

Therefore, it might sound cool to say I had no attachment to this world,
but I was somewhat reckless; although I had my moments of enjoyment,
looking at it from a bird's-eye view, I thought my own life did not matter.

I wanted to be of some use.

That desire was strong,
and I thought that being useful
was how I would satisfy my need for approval.

And I took that for granted.

For those who think that way, perhaps you who are reading this now,
are you the same?

If so, I pray that you will soon be released from that thought, that spell.

The term 'contributing to others' sounds good.
No one would say it is bad.
I do not say it is bad either.

But true contribution to others is something you can do only after you have fulfilled yourself.
Are you able to accept yourself?

In order to practice self-acceptance,
it begins with noticing things that are more taken for granted than yourself,
things you have never even thought about whether they have value or not,
and being grateful for them and acknowledging them.

I believe that is the beginning of the 'Way of Mindfulness' that Soun Takeda talks about.

Things that are there and taken for granted.
Noticing such things.
Turning your attention to them.

Mindfully confirming the coincidences and existence around you.
That is the beginning.
And once you can feel that, let us be mindfully grateful.

Why be grateful for 'what is' itself?
Because that is 'acceptance'.

When you realize that, you will notice that the "acceptance of others" and "contribution to others" you are currently practicing were
illusions.
At the very least, what I had been thinking of were illusions.

Noticing "what is"

So, here are the steps you can take to move toward self-acceptance and, further, toward connection with others.

It begins with noticing "what is."
The things you are touching right now,
let's start from there.

Is something touching your fingertips?
A smartphone? A computer? A desk?

Things touching your skin,
underwear? What are you wearing?
Accessories?

Take a good look at them.
Why did you choose to hold them?
Why are you wearing them?

What do you like about them?
Where do you feel affection for them?

What kind of good things do they bring to you?

An episode from Soun Takeda
・Being grateful even for the air from a hair dryer
　For the air that dries his hair,
　he expresses gratitude, treating it as something precious by saying, "O sacred wind, come forth!"

He is grateful not just for the dryer, but even for the air itself.

Thinking of it that way, the warm air in the space between your underwear and your skin
also starts to feel precious.
It is thanks to that air that I am protected during these cold days.

However, before you can be grateful, you must notice its existence,
otherwise you cannot feel it.

Raisin meditation
・Savoring a raisin that you would normally eat in one bite
　Take a good look at the raisin.
　Its texture, gloss, size,
　how does it feel to the touch? What is its scent?

By taking several minutes to savor something
that you would normally pop into your mouth without a second thought,
you make discoveries that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

These are just examples, but
by all means, try to notice
many things that "are."

That is the beginning.

I will help you.

This kind of self-acceptance
is difficult to do alone.

I also received a session from someone,
and finally climbed a small step.

The trigger for losing self-acceptance
is actually something from others
and regaining self-acceptance
also requires the help of others

I decided to write this series this time
partly to organize my own thoughts,
but also with the hope that it might help someone like my former self

Let's do this together,

if you think that sounds right,
please consult someone close to you if you have someone to talk to.
If you'd like, you can talk to me as well.

As I mentioned before,
art mind and tidying up are easy to understand
because they start with things you can see.

Why don't we talk first?