Sticky Keys

I have often reflected that I don't need to read another book or find another wise teacher in this life (although I will probably do both), because life itself provides me an abundance of wise teachers. When we are present and attentive, everything teaches. This has come home to me over the past few days through a minor irritant: sticky keys.

Yes, I have cleaned my keyboard. I have even popped off a few keys and soaked them in warm water. They are still sticking. This means that I have to type more slowly, or I will get extra spaces or capitol letters where I do not intend. At first, this was just irritating. I like my typing to keep pace with my ideas. Now I am rethinking this. Do I need to be in such a hurry to finish a sentence or a paragraph? So, I am slowing my pace, and typing more mindfully as I create this post. My sticky keys are saying "slow down," one key stroke after another.

Once the keyboard got my attention, I started noticing how many other reminders I have to slow down around me. It turns out, I am surrounded by teachers who encourage me to pause at every turn. I will mention just a few and trust that you will find your own. The dogs will linger to smell a leaf or the bark of a tree, encouraging me to pause and notice that very same tree, rather than thinking about what I'll cook for breakfast when we get home. The array of traffic lights that seem perfectly timed to turn red just before I approach an intersection are also excellent teachers. This morning I found myself multi-tasking while waiting for a pan of water to boil. Why not pause, and study the miracle of water instead of unloading the dishwasher, checking for text messages and watering the plants?

The choice is ours. Are the sticky keys and red lights just irritants or do we embrace them as part of each miraculous moment, aligning ourselves to flow with the ever changing rhythms of our world? Slow down and savor! What part of your world is teaching you in this moment?