[carreraboyracer]

The teacher at my Samatha meditation class advised me to practice mindfulness all the time in my daily life.

I was painting a door frame containing 15 glass panes, and I didn't want to be doing it. I noticed my attention was on what I would be doing next, what I would be doing when the painting was finished, some time in the future.

Noticing this, I consciously brought my attention back to the paintbrush and to the flow of paint from the bristles on to the door. Within a short time I found it gave me a feeling of joy to see the paint flowing and I lost sense of the passing of time in a task that I didn't care for. It transformed into something that was worth doing well, and it filled my attention completely.

Now, I'm looking for ways of bringing that attention to everything I do. Not everything is as simple as the painting task. I find the jobs that require more intellectual effort are harder to approach in a mindful way.

Still, I now know what I'm aiming for.