In the practice of Mindfulness, there are 7 attitudes that we keep in mind, moving towards a path of healing and growth. They are as follows: Non-judging, Patience, Beginner’s mind, Trust, Non-striving, Acceptance and Letting Be.
Beginner’s mind is learning to look at something like it’s the first time you are seeing it. It reminds me of a time when my husband and I took our children to the beach for the first time when they were babies. Watching them look at the sand, trying to eat the sand, looking out at the vast ocean, seeing the waves come in and out—the wonder in their eyes was pure magic. I take that experience from way back when, and I apply it to my own meditation every morning.
We tend to take the ordinary for granted and fail to grasp the extraordinary in our everyday life. To begin to see the richness of the present moment, we are then willing to see everything as if for the first time. An open, beginner’s mind allows us to be receptive to new possibilities.
Beginners mind is one of my favorite attitudes to practice, and I’ve made up my morning meditation ritual with this practice in mind. Every morning, I pour myself a cup of coffee. I take time to smell the aroma of the coffee brewing, to listen to the pour of the coffee in my cup, and to notice how the cream turn the coffee a soft caramel color. I take my cup of coffee out onto my back porch, no matter how cold it is (I wrap myself in a warm blanket), and look out upon an old oak tree we have in the backyard. I take my first sip of my hot coffee like it’s the first time I’ve ever tasted it. Then I look to that old oak tree like I’ve never seen it before. If it’s still dark outside, I see the leaves twinkling in the moonlight with a backdrop of the sky full of stars. I feel the wind in my face, I listen to the sounds of the rustling of the trees, or in the spring—I listen to the birds rising for the day. I’ve seen that big old tree in every season and in every climate. I say a silent prayer for the people I will encounter during the day. It starts my day with a sense of grounding and of peace. I have learned to see that tree as a great friend and listener, something that I can start my day with that is both reliable and resilient, no matter what.