What's in a Name?

When I first settled on the name ‘Mindful Pursuit’ I was planning on blogging the spiritual aspect of a physical motorcycle journey around the world. No one person or movement can take over the meaning of a word and all it’s underlying concepts, but for me the word ‘Mindful’ is beyond all forms and levels of consciousness, an “awareness without necessarily being aware” as a Zen master might say, or simply ‘Presence.’ Being present is not through sheer force of focus or concentration, it is simply being present in and of itself – and if you are not present here, you are present elsewhere, in body and/or mind, the concept is simply about being present.

‘Pursuit’ came from both an achievement orientation in which I often find myself and an expectation that I would someday obtain ‘mindfulness.’ Step by step, thought by thought, not only was I pursuing mindfulness, the pursuit itself would be mindful.  At the time, coming right out of the business and finance world, I had goals and expectations. I see things differently now.

While it is still a journey, and it is a mindful one, I have come to see that my expression is not clear in these words alone. ‘Presence’ somehow gets lost, chased away in pursuit. In a book by Basho, he states “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
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‘Pursuit’ for me is no longer an act of achievement, it’s something I do, like a pastime. With no goal to reach, it’s in this that I am, a journey without destination, for I am already home in this journey, every day and with every step.

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