Series: What Mindfulness Means to Me, Elizabeth Wood

In an effort to share a range of perspectives on the meaning of mindfulness and to facilitate a discussion about this important topic, we are  posting a series of short essays by different contributors on What Mindfulness Means to Me. Below is a poem by Elizabeth Wood expressing what mindfulness means to her.

I sit before an empty plate.

There is nowhere I need to be,

Nothing I need to do.

My plate is completely empty.

Perhaps a few tiny crumbs

Of a previous meal

Linger here and there.

But there is no main dish,

No commitments, no entanglements.

Before, my plate was overflowing

Obligations spilling over

Messy

Uncontrolled.

Today I sit with my plate empty.

I know there have been lots

Of projects, plans, promises

To myself

And others.

But today I sit with a plate

Of emptiness.

Only air,

Only space

And silence.

What a beautiful, exquisite

Plate

Of

Emptiness.

Elizabeth Wood has practiced in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh for thirty years.   But who is she?     Just a beginner.