The World Is Its Own Magic

One of my favorite quotes is from the Vietnamese Zen teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh:

“The real miracle isn’t to walk on water.

The real miracle is to walk right here on Earth.”

Thich Nhat Hanh died recently, leaving a legacy of what he called “engaged Buddhism.” That’s the practice of seeing reality, keeping our hearts open, and helping to heal and better our world.

This practice, the miracle – “to walk right here on Earth” – is central to work, leadership, and all parts of our lives. It takes practice to keep coming back to this moment, this place, and the people who are right in front of us, without being distracted by our phones, social media, and our relentless to-do lists.

Last week, I led an in-person mindful leadership workshop for a group of 50 leaders in the healthcare industry. They’d all traveled to San Francisco from across the U.S. for a company retreat. As I was preparing to lead a morning session, there was a good deal of buzz in the room about a magic show they’d all attended the night before, called The Magic Patio.

When I first heard about this magic event, it sounded really interesting. Then I began feeling a bit nervous and daunted with the idea of my mindfulness session following a magic show. Mindful leadership seemed like a pretty dull topic in comparison. What could I do to engage them?

I surprised myself when I stood up in front of the group at the start of the session and said:

“I’m a magician too.”

I then shared that Thich Nhat Hanh quote about the real miracle of being able to walk on Earth.

As I did so, I felt deeply the magic of just being present and alive in that room with a group of curious and open-minded business leaders.

During the workshop, I addressed the challenge of busyness and how busy we’ve all become, especially in the 24/7 “always-on” business environment.

I suggested to the group an alternative to this constant busyness which entailed practicing being more:

Focused?on what they were doing in that moment and letting go of ruminating about the past and worrying about the future

Wholeheartedly?Engaged?with what matters most to them

Spacious, by exploring what it feels like to be satisfied with that they’ve achieved and?not doing anything extra

This led me to share another of my favorite quotes, this one by Shunryu Suzuki, from?Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind, where he says:

“The world is its own magic.”

I asked the attendees at the mindful leadership workshop to focus on the magic of being in that room and being alive at that moment. It turned out to be an amazing and magical session in its own right.

You too can feel and truly appreciate the magic of being here, alive, right now, if you’re more focused, engaged and spacious. To help convey just what a miracle it is to be walking here on Earth right now, I’d like to share with you this beautiful poem by Mary Oliver:

When I am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.