17-02-2022
4 min.

Did you see that spring is around the corner? Crocuses and daffodils are starting to bloom and nature is preparing for a fresh start. Spring can be a wonderful reminder of cultivating the beginner's mind which is one of the key attitudes in mindfulness.

Have you ever been completely absorbed in watching a beautiful sunset, listening to a mesmerising piece of music, or tasting something truly delicious that you had never tasted before? These are wonderfully intense moments, in which your senses are completely open – and your worries seem far away. Wouldn't you wish these moments could last longer, or that you had more of them? As a matter of fact, that is possible, even in your everyday life!

The beginner's mind is a powerful antidote to the autopilot mode

The "beginner's mind" is a mindfulness attitude that you can consciously train, and doing so has many benefits. The beginner's mind is the perfect antidote to the autopilot in which we so often find ourselves in, rushing from here to there, constantly ticking off to-do lists and being only half present for our life which can lead to a feeling of stress and exhaustion.

The beginner's mind is about perceiving everything as if it were for the first time: getting up, taking a shower, eating breakfast, greeting your partner, seeing the first signs of spring in your garden or in the park.... It carries with it a unique kind of magic that acknowledges that every moment is indeed completely new and fresh, that it has never existed before and never will exist again. Right here and now, the richness of life unfolds before you.

Why not take 30 seconds right now to try it out? Just look around you and imagine that you have never been here before – wherever you are right now. What do you see? What do you really see, through the eyes of someone who has never seen this? What do you hear, smell, feel?

If you allow yourself to do this from time to time, it helps you to step out of the autopilot, to break out of old thinking patterns and boredom. Maybe you noticed a little thrill when you did the exercise? Or maybe you noticed something you hadn't really noticed before? With a beginner's mind, countless possibilities open up to you. When you welcome a moment as fresh and new, you open your heart to the miracle of "life", to the extraordinary in everyday life.

There may be this little voice that tells you that you are being foolish

Because you have seen this before. It's not really new. Your whole life is full of moments that you have already experienced before. So you go through life on autopilot, going through the motions without being aware of what you are doing. So do I.

For example, if my son has been grabbing the same book to read before going to sleep for weeks, and his sister is moaning "Not this story again!", then she is only saying out loud what my mind is thinking. If my children are arguing who gets their teeth brushed first – even though the cause of the dispute is actually a pleasant one – then my thoughts revolve around "Not again ... Every evening the same fighting. I can't bear it anymore." When the washing machine is beeping for the third time today and is waiting to be emptied, I am at first annoyed by the renewed interruption of my activity. Doing the laundry again, how boring.

The term "everyday life" already tells us how it usually feels: every day is the same. If we look at it like that, it can build up frustration and boredom.

The beginner's mind brings joy into everyday life

When we consciously choose to look at a each moment with a beginner's mind, without waiting for the desired or expected result to come true, we can cultivate an inner curiosity, calm our judgmental mind, and experience the day with more joy.

Only in this way can I perceive with what enthusiasm and daily deeper understanding my son absorbs the bedtime story, and enjoy myself being there with him. Only in this way can I demonstrate to the children with patience and understanding how to resolve a conflict (Who is "first" today? Why is it not important to be "first"?). To show them how to resolve a conflict peacefully and hope they will soon do it on their own. Only then can I make the conscious decision to use the laundry as a mindfulness exercise for coming back to my senses (What does the texture feel like? Which colours and shapes do I see? What does it smell like? What sounds do the clothespins make?).

And just like that, a "boring" moment turns into a seed of happiness, peacefulness or gratitude.

It's not easy to train the beginner's mind, but it's always worth remembering and trying it out – again and again. Then maybe your day will be different than you originally thought. In addition, a day full of curiosity and openness contributes to feeling not so exhausted at the end of the day and frustrated by everyday – supposedly meaningless – tasks, but feeling awake and inspired by the abundance of this life.

Why not let the arrival of spring be your reminder to bring some freshness to your experience?