To live lightheartedly but not recklessly; to be gay without being boisterous; to be courageous without being bold; to show trust and cheerful resignation without fatalism—this is the art of living.
— Jean de La Fontaine
Prior to discovering meditation twenty plus year’s ago, I was very much at the whim of my thoughts. Often, I would find myself emotionally reactive to a situation without taking the time to consider whether my perceptions about it were actually based in fact. In many respects, I lived life on autopilot, unable to experience the gap between my thoughts and reactions.
It wasn’t long into establishing a mindfulness practice, I began to recognize not only that my perceptions weren’t always accurate, but I also didn’t have to react to my thoughts. Both of these shifts helped me to see not only are there a variety of ways to perceive any situation, but there are also many options to how someone might respond.
The less we live unconsciously the more likely we will see just how much we are actually guiding and directing the quality of our lives. We have a great deal of freedom to choose whether and how we respond to what is going on within or around us. In truth, our respective lives are to a large extent curated by these individual choices. Herein lies the art of living.
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