Mindful

Before I'd mastered the skill of mediation, I tried my luck with meditation during my summer family trip to New Zealand. Wow. I wished to learn mindfulness after bringing the book Search Inside Yourself by Google engineer Chade-Meng Tan.

Meng didn't ask for practicing Zen with butt on cushion for one hour a day, legs crossed and chin tucked. Just one breath a day. Breathe in, with focus, and breathe out, mindfully. His analogy is a baby learning to walk. Mine is a beginner learning to ski, as what we did in Queenstown and Arrowtown this time.

One step was all we could manage before falling. Being able to put on a ski and waddle like a penguin is a cool experience. The big secret is to get ourselves to a state where our mind is relaxed and alert at the same time. One step at a time. In focus. Then another, and voilà, we were on our way down the slope.

Meditation is like skiing at the slope, minus the sweating, and the ski boots.