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Mindfulness & Work
I really struggle with this one. Trying to keep mindfulness while I'm at work.
There are some aspects of my job I love & there are some that I dislike...alot.
I work with the general public & some people are amazingly rude & some tasks are not pleasant.
How is it that you can switch off that part of your brain that takes you to a happy place, that place that has kept me sane all these years? Why would I want to be mindful when these things take place?
Also, I really resent anything, especially work that keeps me from spending time with my husband. Over 40 hours a week I spend there & no matter how hard I try to be aware & mindful, the feeling that I could be with him instead of what I'm doing always drifts back.
There are some aspects of my job I love & there are some that I dislike...alot.
I work with the general public & some people are amazingly rude & some tasks are not pleasant.
How is it that you can switch off that part of your brain that takes you to a happy place, that place that has kept me sane all these years? Why would I want to be mindful when these things take place?
Also, I really resent anything, especially work that keeps me from spending time with my husband. Over 40 hours a week I spend there & no matter how hard I try to be aware & mindful, the feeling that I could be with him instead of what I'm doing always drifts back.
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I learned that when 'like' and 'dislike' are created, inevitably some form of suffering will occur. I applied mindfulness when studying for finals a few weeks ago and started to see what was actually happening. When approaching statistics (the field I hated) I would see a lot of anxiety building up, a lot of anger and numerous thoughts about other things I could be doing. However, instead of creating a story about these phenomena I simply stayed with them and saw them for what they were (just anxiety, just thoughts, just anger). After about 5 minutes the body calmed down and my mind was focused back onto the work. I saw that the work was neither good nor bad, it was just work. What resulted was a calm, focused approach with no suffering since in reality all phenomena are empty of self. They just happen as they are.
I definitely feel you on this one though, mindfulness is a tough practice but when you see the truth over and over again you'll stop fighting it.
Namaste
When you are at work and you notice that your mind has drifted away to your husband, or to feelings of resentment, bring your awareness back with your breath in the here and now.
In stressful situations where there is a lot of tension building up, it can sometimes be helpful to imagine for a while that the tension is gently leaving you with the outbreaths.
Kind wishes,
D.
I work at Subway. There is actually a statue of Maitreya in the back office wearing a Subway hat. He is affectionately called the "Subway Buddha" (although I often remind them that he is actually a bodhisattva, but that's besides the point). I often find my job presenting great opportunities to practice mindfulness, giving, and devotion. I also often find myself pretty much "zoning out" at work, which is basically concentrating whole-heartily on the task at hand. Of course, I'm not a robot, so multitasking is never out of the question. However, I keep myself focused on the main task at hand while addressing other, more minor, tasks at hand.
Keep in mind that while doing this, I work at Subway - dealing with all kinds of different, and sometimes obnoxious (and down right strange) people. My fiancee is going to college. We barely have much time to see each other as it is, and the co-workers are extremely juvenile (not only meaning that some of them are actually kids, but most of them just act like it). Sometimes, it's hard handling myself in such situations. Yet there is one thing that keeps me going: I'll be payed for my effort and sacrifice given at work, and my relationship will prosper because of it. Yeah, the people I work with can be a pain in the ass. Customers I have to deal with are usually a pain in the ass. Despite all of this, I keep myself going by focusing myself entirely on the task at hand, with the goal of being rewarded for my effort and sacrifice.
This goes out to everyone who works in public service...
I suppose the greatest rewards of applying wisdom is when we apply it to things that we don't like the most.
PS: How lucky your husband is, that he has a wife that struggle because she wants to be with him.
To continue with Buddhism, do I have to agree that these practises are 'wise' in all situations? Does my heart & mind have to agree entirely? I see the practise of mindfulness being 'wise' in most instances, but not in all. I like a lot of the buddhist concepts but maybe I won't agree 100% along my journey. To me it's not all black & white and maybe it shouldn't be.
Bodhipunk, thankyou for that video. It made me laugh.
Whenever one person has dominion over another, the dominated needs to hold his tongue. In any tribe, there are leaders. In any military organization one finds a need to hold ones words. A king has his subjects. A shopkeeper has his customers. All people in all eras have had to watch what they say, take abuse, stand aside, kowtow, or, generally, mind their manners. I work for myself and still need to watch what I say or I would not have customers.
I believe the benefits mindfulness are reciprocal: not only do we lesson or eliminate our tension, but the tension of those around us. People are mostly sad and confused, look to bring a little peace to them.