This moment is new. I am seeing and experiencing it for the first time.
Can I see it as a beginner with a fresh pair of eyes - with a childlike wonder, curiosity, openness, excitement, and lightness? No need to assume it's a continuation of the same old. Let it emerge and, with it, bring a new set of possibilities, ideas, and experiences.
No need to think I am an expert and know what the next moment will be. It can close my mind to new ideas and possibilities. It can feed my ego, trapping my mind in the cocoon of the reactive thinking patterns.
When I see and interact with others with a beginner’s mindset – when I don’t cast them in the mold of past experiences, and listen to them with an open mind – it can open up space for new conversations and perspectives – it can help them feel understood and acknowledged – it can unlock new possibilities for mutual trust, respect, and healing.
The openness of a beginner helps me tune into the abundance, insights, and richness of the universe.
When I think I am an expert and know-it-all, it feeds my ego and my closed-mindedness. It can create a scarcity mindset, depriving me of new ideas and abundance.
Can I experience this moment with the lightness of a beginner’s mind, perceiving its purity and the freshness of its potential to give rise to the next moment?
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi: In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are few.