ordinary adventure

dream creature

Every day could be an adventure involving mundane details, repetition, the very ordinary. The trick is to notice what's going on and to be a little bit aware of one's state of mind. Notice how you pour yourself a cup of coffee, tea, water, beer, wine or hard liquor. Notice how you drink it. Do you do it absentmindedly? Or do you aggressively grab the bottle and pour the liquid splashing into the glass? Do you do it slowly, enjoying the sound of fluids leaving one container and entering another? Are you tuned into the sound, taste and the texture?


Lohbado noticed how most of the time his mind got swept down a stream of consciousness, or totally spaced out into the clouds. Sometimes his mind became dull. Other times it got agitated. It happens to just about everybody. It's not a problem. It's all part of the process of being on a trajectory from birth to death. There's no reward, no gold star at the end of the journey.

From what Lohbado could understand, the reward of effort, discipline and awareness is when the mind becomes cheerful and bright. When one reduces confusion or self-defeating behaviour, it's much more relaxing than if one becomes a maniac seeking power and approval. Lohbado's grandmother taught him a wise saying: happiness is more likely to occur as you learn to empathize with others. To be kind and reasonable results in more harmonious social interactions than being aggressive and mean. A smile is more attractive than a frown.