Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

-Suzuki Roshi

Sometimes we miss what is right in front of us, because we are looking for something better, bigger, prettier, happier. Suzuki Roshi’s beautiful statement is an invitation to mindfulness. We are asked not to seek perfection, but rather to be with what is and find perfection in that.

But how do we do that? It sounds nice on paper, but how do we carry this into the reality of our lives? It’s actually quite simple, and only asks that we connect to our senses—our felt experience. We listen to the sounds in our midst. We look at the colors, the textures in front of us. We really smell and really taste. And we feel. We feel our emotions and we feel our physical sensations.

And we do this without judgment, without the labels of good or bad. We simply take it in. We see tree. We taste bread. We hear rain. And by connecting to our senses, we connect to the reality of the moment, and simultaneously we can touch the perfect reality of the infinite.

-Tara