There is a story about two Zen teachers from seventh-century China. One teacher is sweeping some stone steps inside the monastery with a wooden broom. He is approached by the other teacher, who looks at him and remarks, “Too busy.” (This is a way of saying, “Why are you sweeping when you should be meditating or undertaking some type of contemplative practice?”) The first teacher, holding his broom, responds by saying, “You should know that there is one who is not busy.”

Though we often associate busyness with activity and speed, and lack of busyness with stopping or slowing down, this is not always the case. It is possible to be actively engaged and not be busy. Not being “busy” does not require that you stop, slow down, or step out of the activity of your life. Most of the time, we learn, we adjust, we find our composure, right in the midst of the activity and intensity of our lives. We have to!

There is an old story of a man riding very fast on a horse. As he rides past his friend standing on the side of the road, the friend yells, “Where are you going?” The rider turns toward his friend and yells, “I don’t know, ask the horse!”

"Mindfulness helps us understand that our conventional view of ourselves and even what we mean by "self" is incomplete in some very important ways. Mindfulness helps us recognize how and why we mis-take the actuality of things for some story we create, and then make it possible to chart a path toward greater sanity, well-being, and purpose. -- Jon Kabat-Zinn

I’ve recently begun experimenting with the Engine 2 Texas Firefighters Diet -- you can eat everything except animal products, sugar, white flour, and oils… Eating this way has brought a new level of attention to what I eat, a new appreciation for what I put into my body. After all, what could be more intimate then this act that we so casually call eating.

Speed kills. This is literally true when it comes to driving. The higher the speed, the greater the chances of fatalities. It is also true that working with speed and intensity, without modulating your activity, contributes to a host of physical ailments leading to a variety of health problems and a shortened life.

But often life itself moves fast, and we are challenged to move fast enough to keep up with it. Whether we are a work-all-night CEO or a stay-at-home parent, our days can become filled with the nonstop challenges of business, home, parenting, and relationships: phones ringing, emails flying, reports piling up, meetings and deadlines, children needing to be picked up from school, dinner to make, laundry to do, bills to pay, and so on. When problems arise, we sometimes must make split-second decisions and adjustments.

To “enjoy” your life is different than how we often think of happiness. Happiness is usually dependent on the circumstances, the situation, the perception and assessment of your life. We are happy when things go well, when we get what we want. To really enjoy your life means to appreciate your life, including what is difficult or unpleasant.

Of course, we all want to be happy. We want the best circumstances, we want to be successful, we want to heal, we want to make changes and improvements wherever possible -- and we all have exactly the life we have, right now. Here is a portion of a talk by writer Anna Quindlen, and a quote by Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki.

From Anna Quindlen’s Commencement address at Villanova, June 2000:

I was drawn to Zen practice as a path and practice to finding real freedom, to owning, respecting, and trusting this ordinary, precious life. My practice began, and is regularly encouraged by noticing where and when I am not awake, where I am holding, avoiding, tight. I didn’t know it at the time but, this could be a description of the practice of Right View.

As I was preparing to give a recent talk, I noticed a part of me was tight. My reaction to this tightness was to further contract. I thought – oh, won’t it feel better when this talk is over. What a relief that will be. I was looking into the future, and avoiding any kind of stress, any kind of being uncomfortable.

These are 10 books that I find myself re-reading, referring to again and again:

Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen, by Shunryu Suzuki

Practicing Peace in Times of War, by Pema Chodron

Several years ago, my then twenty-year-old son, Jason, worked in the Brush Dance warehouse; the publishing company I founded and ran. I received the benefit of his insights about the company as well as his suggestions for improvements. Fairly often Jason would suggest that I take him to lunch, and though this meant spending more money then I normally would, the opportunity made me happy.

Many times, we resist change because change seems too big. Change is easier to accept, and to practice, when it’s small. This is the secret power of Kaizen.

Originally a Japanese management concept designed to improve business practices, Kaizen is a process aimed at reducing or eliminating unnecessary physical and mental work. It encourages people to create and perform experiments as part of their daily work lives in order to become aware of and eliminate waste in their jobs. The ultimate goal of Kaizen is to accomplish more by doing less.

Every once in a while I like to take beginning improv classes – a great way to explore and develop responsiveness, helps me with not over-thinking, and also a great way to play and have fun. (If you are in San Francisco, check out Bay Area Theater Sports

I once arrived at a class in San Francisco; the teacher entered and announced with much enthusiasm, “Today we are going to do improvised Shakespeare.” I could feel my body tighten; a touch of dread setting in. I turned to the teacher and said that I didn’t have a good deal of experience with Shakespeare, hoping she would change the topic. Instead, she looked at me and responded with an even more enthusiastic, “Great!”