"Today, we're doing 50x50". In swim coach language, that means fifty continuous 50 meter laps for one hour of practice. I started dreading the monotony, and plotting ways that I could maybe cut out early. Several laps into it, however, I came up with the idea of trading boredom with concentration. What if I started repeating the lap number with each stroke? Five, five, five, five, five, five, five, five . . . . And then six, six, six, six, six, . . . Soon there was only room in my mind for numbers, and the fleeting awareness of each stroke, and of the beginning and end of each lap. Several thoughts managed to squeeze in, and so did a few moments of boredom, but overall, it was pretty much empty mind. While I do not wish to clear my head of thoughts, necessarily, I did appreciate the temporary clearing. I realize this is a practice I can apply to many other repetitive activities.
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Excellent Points of awareness ~Seiho
ReplyDeleteThanks Seiho. The mind is such a vast territory. So much to explore!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what I know now back when I had practices twice a day! Productive monotony...I'd be a Buddha now!
ReplyDeleteBack then is past. Now is the time. :)
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