Sense of Priorities

    Are priorities carved in stone? I found that recently, in my work, I am noticing how priorities aren't so easily kept in place. There are times when I have a list of things I need to do, only to later find that many of these priorities shift as a new project comes along, or a new enthusiasm. And I found that it does take some wisdom to know when to keep awareness on a priority and when to accommodate other situations that emerge. Pema Chodron describes, in a similar manner, the attitude one takes toward meditation when she describes the level of attention needed to watch the breath: "it's only twenty-five percent awareness on the out-breath. The other awareness is less specific; it's simply that you are alive in this room with all the different things that are occurring here." (p.21)
     I start to realize that meditation practice is similar to keeping priorities, and vice versa. Priorities are not carved in stone 'musts' but are more like reminders which bring the mind into the present situation. For instance, when I rank the things I need to do at work according to level of urgency, timing, practicality, etc,. this action prompts me to be attentive to what I am doing and to arrange my day. But if I am suddenly pulled away from these priorities to do something else, I needn't feel 'bound' to my priorities  or overly attached to them. After all, priorities are 'maps' and not the territory, and if I am too attached to them, I will end up not learning from new opportunities or experiences.
    I think a similar principle might apply with meditation practice. If I am overly determined to stay with  the method itself and not see the unfolding experience or process as well, I am not aware of what the mind is doing in those in between moments when not engaged in the meditation. It is as though I am only interested in the particular method itself, and I lack a sense of tenderness for my whole being in the process. But the problem here is that I become blind to my whole experiences, whereas the methods of practice are only designed to reveal all these experiences, without discriminating them. So, for instance, if I take the approach that 'only thoughts of the method are acceptable', I am subtly rejecting the true workings of the mind. This too becomes attachment. A middle approach is to see the method as a tool to be present and cultivate equanimity toward all states of mind and body, rather than being fixated on method.
   There are also times when no matter how determined I am in my practice, I am simply unable to stay with the method of practice, most likely due to pain. In those moments, I recommend treating the pain itself as a kind of question...a body question that is similar to the question generated by the mind. By being curious about the question of body pain, I suspend my judgment about it and am able to better tolerate or create spaces for it, rather than trying to avoid it altogether.

Chodron, Pema ( 2010) The Wisdom of No Escape.. Boston: Shambhala