Surprise in the Pot of Tulips

In March, i gave away several pots of tulips. Now, Paula sends me a photo of her pot of tulips (the tulips are long gone) with morning glories growing out of the pot.

Oh, yes, the joys of compost. You see, i added some of my compost to the potting soil last November when i potted up the tulip bulbs, and, well, i'm not surprised that Paula has morning glories. I have morning glories growing in my compost pile too.

Our habits of mind are planting seeds all the time. Invisible seeds that are nearly unnoticed because a habit of mind is, well, first of all, a habit. We are so accustomed to being slightly anxious, a little bit worried, slightly irritated or impatient, we have begun to think of those habits of mind as being "normal."

With mindfulness, we first of all observe our mind. Simply notice what's going on, without judgment. Notice as if your are a scientist conducting an experiment or a naturalist keeping a lookout for a skitterish specimen.

When you can identify even one habit of mind, you are really using your muscle of mindfulness.