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We have multiple New Years in India, and whichever one you celebrate—Gregorian, Tamil, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Pohela Baishakh, Vaishakhi, or Diwali, Tibetan or Chinese—the principle of the constantly available new beginning is a great symbol of living in the present. New Years represent the momentum of starting again, a Zen principle known as the ‘beginner’s mind’, a Japanese Buddhist term called (初心) ‘Shoshin’.
In all knowledge-based philosophies or religions, the emphasis is on
Both the repetitive New Year and the beginner’s mind are rooted in the present moment. The present moment is valued because it is where the past is resolved, and what the future is born out of. Regardless of how many times you succeeded or failed in the past, and regardless of how much you think you already know, what does this moment bring you? The ability to rest in this moment brings fresh perspective and impetus. All is not lost because your resolutions for 2022 haven’t been fulfilled, because even if three quarters of the year have passed, you still have the now, the fresh beginning, and you can approach it with a clean slate, again.
Beginner’s mind and a fresh start don’t mean that you won’t fail at something, or factors won’t influence it again. If you’ve ever played the game Samorost 3, you’ll notice the little alien has to attempt the same gesture multiple times before you even understand how the objects in a level work. We seem to be able to do this very often in gaming, even if you slip back and have to reattempt levels you’ve already cleared, but in life, we give up, we lose patience, and we miss the lesson. Life, like seasons, is cyclical. The spring, summer, autumn and winter, or monsoon and summer that come around are not the same as the year before, but they will come around for sure. The farmer knows this best. Last year’s monsoon may have failed him, but this year’s brings another opportunity, a window that is just as brief and subject to factors outside his control. He will not be so arrogant as to know the weather, even if he has been a farmer for decades. He comes with beginner’s mind. And so, how can he not try again? It is in his nature as a farmer to hope his puny seed wins against the elements of the whole wild world, from pest to storm.
The present moment is considered precious because it is all that is in our control, and all that is real, tangible. Everything outside it is a hope, intention, anxiety, regret or memory, a conceptual object. This moment is all you can influence, alter, change and through it, everything else. It exists in a continuum like streaming units of electricity that make the light look like a seamless stream. This moment has come around again with fresh impetus. The new year is here, and it will be here again in a short while. How are you beginning again?
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