Just be part of the Dance

This woman is my destiny.
She said oh oh oh,
shut up and dance with me.
(Shut up and Dance, Walk the Moon)

How can we spend our attention in the NOW? Well, how can we be surprised moment by moment? Have you ever seen an artist look at a painting she sees for the first time? Every detail gets perused; from every angle she looks at the masterpiece. Nothing is assumed, nothing is taken for granted; everything is experienced for the first time.

Curious people have an easier time staying in the present. They are always on the look-out for what's new. The word curious has a positive implication for us. Albert Einstein was curious, we say, always wrestling the next insight from the Creator, never be satisfied with what others take as self-evident. In the olden days we may have felt differently though; there is the saying, "curiosity kills the cat". In fact, in German, the word neugierig translates into greedy-for-news. Einstein was restless, obsessed, greedy for new insights. This got him a Nobel price, but from a Zen perspective, he may just have had ants in his pants. 

I saw the Harvard Psychologist Ellen Langer talk the other day. She said, "mindfulness is energy begetting, not consuming." That is a nice way of putting it. I used to be someone living entirely in my mind, and I only consumed energy. Today I am reprogramming my ways such that my mind gives me energy instead.

One way to step out of your head is to be caught by the holy NOW, again, again and again. Today, I am caught by the NOW. Sometimes I eagerly run towards IT, while sometimes I am dragged into it kicking and screaming. In the olden days I simply would have missed it because my powerful mind was running its own show. The WAY helped me to wake up. It is hard work at times to react, respond and interact with what you never would have expected in the first place. Try it, your energy level, curiosity, and creativity will thank you for it.

Along the WAY energy abounds; consume it by dancing with HER.