Take a mindful moment. When we are young, we are told to shake someone’s hand firmly and look them in the eyes. Most of us do what we are told and never think more about it. Gestures like shaking hands or bowing exist in every culture, but how many of us take a moment and pause when we do this to make it an authentic gesture? In Japanese, this short pause could be referred to as “hitokokyu” (一呼吸) which can be translated as “one breath.” Thus, when we take a moment and mindfully pause, we make the gesture authentic. In tea ceremony or Zen, to mindfully take in the moment is called ichigo ichie (一期一会). Ichigo ichie translates as “one time, one meeting” but it's supposed to refer to how we honor the ephemeralness of life because we know that this moment will never happen exactly the same way again. In Aikido, we normally pause like this when we bow before and after we train with someone. However, there are one or more other pauses within each technique as well. For example, after we have negotiated the first part of our opponent’s attack there is usually a pause. Pausing doesn’t necessarily mean physically stopping. For beginners, the pause is more physical which can mean physically stopping. For an expert, the pause is more mental and it appears that they don’t actually physically stop at all. Regardless of one’s level, we pause to regain our composure and to survey the situation which enables us to act appropriately. This person just attacked us which might cause a spike in our adrenaline which could in turn cause our conscious minds to go into subconscious fight or flight mode and give us tunnel vision. When we “lose our minds” we run the risk of doing something that we may regret later. Incidentally, the kokyu kanji (呼吸) in hitokokyu is the same kanji as in kokyu dosa which is the last technique that is practiced in every Aikido class and kokyu supposedly exists in every technique. One could then surmise that breathing brings us back to the moment which enables us to do things authentically which means with all of our heart. In everything we do, we should search for opportunities to pause for a mindful moment.
Today’s goal: Look for opportunities throughout your day to pause for a mindful moment.