Perspective, Progress, Purpose

Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life. Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye. Last month, I moved from Ventura to a small town two hours up the California coast, so I haven't been able to record as many episodes as I would have liked during

the transition. When I visited Ventura during the wildfires that tore through the mountains a of couple weeks ago, I met a friend who had lost her home in the flames. She saw it as a great opportunity to start over, while others equated their houses in ruins with their lives destroyed. Perspective affects our experience in life more than the actual events that take place. And while we can't control what happens,

we have full control of how we respond. As the Buddha said, "You can't really miss "or lose anything to which you've never developed an attachment." It doesn't mean we don't celebrate, enjoy, or love the gifts and people in our lives, I think we actually appreciate them even more BECAUSE they may be taken away from us at any moment. So, on a daily basis, we either fear change, or we anticipate it. I personally seek change in order to get ahead of it, or avoid getting too comfortable, if that

makes sense. Have you ever been so deeply immersed in a TV show, or a video game, or a book you were reading, that you lose awareness of what's going on around you? People are entering or leaving the house, you go for hours without eating, and before you know it, it's the middle of the night? I remember enjoying a novel so much

one time on a train that I missed my stop by quite a few stations. This is another reason why daily meditation is such an important part of life: it gives us an opportunity to stop doing whatever we're doing and just BE. Breathe, take inventory of your surroundings, scan your body and your mind, and remember where you are. Because if we don't then we lose track of time in life not just in a day. And before we know it

ten years go by. We miss our exit, or, worse yet, we mistake the autopilot of going through the motions with actual living, at least until something jars us awake, be it an illness, an accident, or anything that abruptly puts a stop to our routine. The alternative is to get ahead of surprises by actually scheduling regular stops to our routine. Every morning, take a time out to reflect on where you are in relation to where

you've been, and where you are in relation with where you intend to go. If you are lost at sea, as we all are, the only things that keep us going is a sense of purpose and an intended direction. So it's important to check the compass every once in a while, consult the stars, and keep a log of our progress. Perhaps that's why I find writing so therapeutic; it journals and records my process like when kids mark their height

on the wall when they grow up. Except this isn't about physical growth, it's an inventory of everything we've already let go of, as well as a few fears or insecurities, attachments, or issues that we still need to purge. The important thing is to never discourage progress no matter how slow, and to keep in mind that progress is not about speed,

it's about direction. So introduce a gap in your daily routine, at least a five to ten minute break every day, to self-reflect, not to look for answers but to ask yourself some very difficult questions like Am I the kind of person I want to be? Am I living in congruence with my values? What ARE my values? Where, if anywhere, can I loosen my grip a little bit and allow the process to unfold as it inevitably will so I can enjoy the ebb and flow of the tide instead of trying to fight the ocean.