Eco said, “Our lives are full of interstices. […] I can work in the water closet, in the train. While swimming, I produce a lot of things, especially in the sea. Less so in the bathtub, but there too.”<\/p>\n
I am interested in these interstices — these places in between. It seems that we live much of our lives in these in between places, moving from activity to activity, action to action, in breath to out breath. We may be more prone to go to sleep in these transitions. I like the way Eco makes use of these moments for creative process. We can always use them for mindfulness practice.<\/p>\n
This notion of space between things reminds me of some folk wisdom I heard recently. You may have seen the following circulating around the Internet. It’s a good image, a good metaphor<\/p>\n
A professor stood before his philosophy class and\u00a0had some items in front of him.\u00a0When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a\u00a0very large and\u00a0empty mayonnaise jar\u00a0and proceeded\u00a0to fill it with\u00a0golf balls.\u00a0He then asked the students if the jar was full.\u00a0They agreed that it was.The professor then picked up a box of pebbles\u00a0and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar\u00a0lightly.mThe pebbles rolled into the open areas between\u00a0the golf balls.\u00a0He then asked the students again if the jar was full.\u00a0They agreed it was.\u00a0The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.\u00a0Of course, the sand filled up everything else.\u00a0He asked once more if the jar was full.\u00a0The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’\u00a0The professor then produced two Beers from\u00a0under the table and poured the entire contents\u00a0into the jar effectively filling the empty space\u00a0between the sand.\u00a0The students laughed.\u00a0‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided,<\/p>\n
‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.\u00a0The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost\u00a0and only they remained, your life would still be full.\u00a0The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.The sand is everything else—the small stuff.\u00a0‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles\u00a0or the golf balls.\u00a0The same goes for life.\u00a0If you spend all your time and energy on the\u00a0small stuff you will never have room for the\u00a0things that are important to you.\u00a0Pay attention to the things that are critical to\u00a0your happiness …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yet, the jar with the golf balls, pebbles, sand, and beer still contains infinite space, for all practical purposes. What will you put in there? Mindfulness, I might suggest. Only mindfulness of now can fill up this moment. We can put attention into moments and this will fill in the spaces further.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco said (as quoted on The Writer’s Almanac by Garrison Keillor)\u00a0noted that atoms are mostly space. He pointed out one of my favorite and fascinating facts. If you could somehow remove all the space in atoms, the universe would collapse to the size of a bowling ball. What we take to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[359,360,357,358],"class_list":["post-1998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-metaphors-for-mindfulness","category-mindfulnesss","tag-garrison-keillor","tag-infinite-space","tag-umberto-eco","tag-writers-almanac"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. 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