Hello, this is Ditto.

Whenever we start something new, we harbor a subtle thrill and humility. However, as time passes and we grow accustomed to things, that once-shining mindset inevitably dulls and gives way to routine.

The Japanese Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki said this in his book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few. Your mind must always be empty, ready to accept anything."

A beginner's mind never implies naivety or deficiency. It is the 'heart that never ages,' discarding the arrogance of assuming we already know, and always looking at the world with eyes full of wonder.

The British poet T.S. Eliot also wrote, "The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

What if we were to treat the faces of our family we see every day, the commute we walk every day, and our repetitive work like an unfamiliar traveler encountering them for the first time? When we pull back the curtain of familiarity, our daily lives take on a mysterious glow once again.

Is the morning you woke up to today the exact same day as yesterday, or is it a completely new first day?

[Today's Poem]

The First Mind / Jeong Chae-bong

With the first mind set while washing with cold water on the morning of January 1st,
If I lived the year,
Entering school and sitting before brand-new books,
With the radiant first mind that planned a daily schedule,
If I studied,
If a loving relationship,
With the thrill of the day our eyes first met,
Continued endlessly,
On the first day of work,
With the mind set while tying my shoelaces,
If I did my job,
On the day I recovered from an illness,
With a grateful heart in the clear, crisp air,
If I lived the days ahead,
Have I ever kept that mind, even just once?

Every end is another name for a new beginning.
As you stand once again at the starting line, I hope that the purest and most passionate 'first mind' quietly blossoms within your heart.

This was Ditto.