Exercise: Gratitude, Consideration, Love

[Tim R]

I'd like to show you a little exercise which you can easily implement into your day to day life, it doesn't take much effort and can be a lot of fun too 

This exercise aims at developing gratitude, consideration and mindfulness. I've learned this from the traditions of the Zen Sangha ("Sangha" means Buddhist community of monks etc.), although I think other Buddhist schools do the same thing. 

 

Before you eat or drink, become aware of your food in the following ways: whatever you have on your plate, it gave its life for yours. It died so you may live. Whether it may be some plant or some animal, it gave its life to you. Literally.

Is there any greater gift? 

Think of the many, many ways the universe worked out to provide for your food to be on your plate. Some fruits and vegetables? 

They had to grow. A plant had to grow. And where did the plant come from?

Well there's the earth. And what is earth made from? Other plants of course, who died and are now soil. 

Then there's water. Where has the water been? it has been on the planet for billions of years, providing life to every being that has ever lived, every plant, every dinosaur, every human, everyone.

Then there's the sun. Without the sun there would be no food. No plants can grow without light. No animals can live without eating plants or other animals. And there's the atmosphere of the earth, preventing deadly UV radiation to kill plants and animals.

There's the farmer who had to take care of the plants. 

There's the people who worked together to get those fruits to the grocery store. 

There's society, working together in order to allow you to enjoy your food in times of peace. 

There's....

 

You can go on forever, in every direction. And suddenly you find, that the whole universe must be considered. Literally, everything that ever happened lead to you being able to eat and drink your food and water.

And even if you eat only one blueberry while making Leo's blueberry smoothie or whatever, the whole universe is contained in that one blueberry. 

The whole universe gave itself, completely, to create this one berry. Can you even begin to fathom how unbelievably great of a gift that is?

And it is a gift! for you! If that doesn't make you tear up in gratefulness for one single blueberry, you haven't understood.

Or when you drink a cup of tea. "The whole universe is contained in that last drop of tea in your cup" (this is something I read in "The Book of Tea").

Are you going to waste it carelessly? 

Or are you going to honor it by being grateful and mindful, in consideration of every being that gave its life and everything that ever happened, all for this one last drop of tea? 

 

And don't forget, one day you are going to give yourself to every other being too.

No giving without receiving. No receiving without giving. 

 

Can you also recognize that this is Love and Selflessness?

It is the embodiment of "I give myself to you. I am selflessness. I am Love."