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. The problem with being goal-oriented and future-focused is that at no given point
are you ever where you want to be. There's always an underlying farther, higher, better bigger, faster, more goal just out of reach, keeping us focused on what we don't have, or how much farther we still have to go, rather than grateful for how far we've already come, and appreciative of the abundance presently existing in our lives. Many people have anxiety and panic attacks, habitually imagining worst-case scenario outcomes, and constant fear or worry of all the things that could go wrong.
It's been said that anxiety is caused by living in the future, and happiness is only available if we remain fully present with what's right in front of us; neither carrying the weight of the past that's already gone, nor concerned with some imaginary projected unfolding of events in the future that may or may not turn out the way we fear or hope they would. It's very possible to remain motivated, driven, and determined without any attachment
to an end result. The distinction is where we place our focus. For example, the highlight of my volleyball-playing days has nothing to do with any tournaments or trophies won, it has everything to do with the fact that I got to play volleyball every single day. If my focus at the time was on winning, then the disappointment of losing would be unbearable, and the drive to then compete again, and again, and again, would
never be satisfied. There would always be another team to beat, another tournament in which to compete, and another medal to win. But when the focus is on the joy of playing, not just in hindsight but in the moment, then none of that matters. The journey itself is the destination. I'm not sure if this makes any sense... It's like eating healthy for the sake of feeling good, not to lose weight. Or leading a spiritual life for the sake of depth, not longevity.
It's the joy of being married for the benefit of companionship, not the expectation that someone will complete you or always be there. And raising children for the sake of having an impact on someone's life and having their life enrich yours, not as an investment in raising a kid who will one day take care of you in return. By staying committed to the present moment with no expectations that need to be met
by an uncertain future, we bring much more joy to everything at hand. It's perhaps what I find most beautiful about the Tibetan tradition of creating complex sand mandalas that take hours or days to create, only to be destroyed when they're complete; a reminder to focus on the journey not the destination. There's an old story about a young boy who traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist. "How long must I study to become the best karate master in the land?" He asked.
"Ten years at least," answered the master. "Well, what if I study twice as hard as all the other students?" Asked the young man. "Then it would take twice as long; 20 years," replied the master. "Why is it that when I say I will work harder, you tell me it will take longer?" "The answer is clear," said the master, When one eye is fixed upon the destination, only one eye is left with which to find the way. Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless and Buddhist Boot Camp.
For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com, where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project, watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list. We hope you have enjoyed this episode, and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions. Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏🏼