I have a new ritual these days — every time I go to an airport I buy a book and make a promise: the next time I’m here I’ll have read it. That way I can buy another book.

Why’s a bania like me buying books at full price from the airport you ask? It’s a perk I get from my new credit card. It helps me shop anything up to INR 1,000 for free at airports. Folks at Scapia don’t know this but they’re funding my education these days.

The Practicing Mind was the first milestone on that journey (may there be many more). One line from the book sums it up for me:

“I have put down here for you what I am learning in my own life, and through my own efforts. I hope that my words will help you in the same way that those before me have helped me by thing the time to put down what they have learned. Remember, none of these truths are new. They are just the eternal lessons that we have learned and relearned over the centuries from those who have questioned and found peace in the answers. This is where the fun begins.”

Why am I writing a book review?

What’s the impact? What do I gain by writing about a book I read? I don’t have hordes of followers, and I’m not a critic. I’m a reader who wants to share. You don’t have to be famous to have an opinion. It’s okay if nobody listens — I will still write to catalogue my thoughts. Someday someone will mention this book, I’ll find this post, and I’ll relive what I felt today. That’s priceless.

The review

The book wasn’t on my radar; a store assistant recommended it with a simple pitch: “master a skill by learning to love the process.” I was trying to get disciplined and kept lapsing, so I had nothing to lose.

The book doesn’t present new ideas — the author admits that — it’s common wisdom packaged in a helpful way. Still, the writing and timing made the ideas click for me. I’ve become better at maintaining processes; lapses still happen, but now they’re roughly once every two weeks instead of every other day.

Being present in the present

We hear it every time don’t we? be present, live in the present, present is a gift. I felt every person, is either a past person or a future person, means, most of the day, you’re either dealing with something from the past - traumatic memories, past glories etc, or preparing yourself for something in the future - conversations that might happen, situations that might occur and how to respond, etc.

Both of these takes a toll on you doesn’t it? And we just don’t know how to switch it off. It happens automatically.

I learnt that with practice, we can be present people. Why? because present people, are free from the shackles of the past and worries of the future. Not always, but most of the time. At least I’d be able to do tasks with 100% attention and that’s a big deal for whose brain always keeps interrupting them whenever I plan to concentrate.

So I started doing dhyaan in the morning. It is where I concentrate on my breath and try to think about nothing but my breath. Breathe in, breathe out. If I get a distracting thought, I just tell my mind politely to not think about it right now and concentrate on breathing. People in the west call it mindfullness. But the analogy that resonates with me is that - it’s like a gym, for your mind. Every time you concentrate and tell your mind not to wander, it’s like picking up a dumbbell and putting it down. Doing a few every now and then, builds up your mind muscles.

I began with 1 minute and now do 3 minutes. When I read, my phone is on DND to minimize distractions. I have no goals or page counts — I read until my day or mood allows. I’m learning to love the process.

Loving the process

Why are hobbies fun and work not? Often it’s because work is framed as goal-driven with external pressures. The book suggests breaking goals into repeatable processes and following those processes without obsessing over the end result. Success becomes a byproduct of showing up and practising daily.

I agree — with a caveat: follow the process, and have regular check-ins so you don’t lose direction. So far, this approach is working for me.

When is a flower perfect?

This is something that’s unique about this book. The author asks - “At what point in a flower’s life, from seed to full bloom, does it reach perfection?”

and it forced me to think from both angles. If I say, the flower is perfect at the time when it blooms and blossoms, and begins to wither away soon after that that… it’d also mean that I haven’t reached that stage yet and expecting perfection for me is stupid because it’s there in the future. A flower cannot bloom before time.

But if I say that it’s perfect all the time, from seed to full bloom, then that would mean, I’m perfect, just the way I should be right now. As nature intended. Whether this means I should change or not, is also part of my perfection. If I decide to change, then that’s perfect, if not, that’s perfect too.

This analogy is just… wow.

Conclusion

Read it, obviously. It’s a great read, the language is simple and the ideas can be implemented without much effort. Read it from time to time because … life just steals our perspective from time to time… so it’s important to get it back.

Quotes that I loved

  • “True perfection is both always evolving and always present within you, just like the flower.”
  • “Patience is defined in the dictionary as quiet perseverance.”
  • “You need to keep reviewing these ideas so that you can hang on to their clarity and perspective. Otherwise, life steals them away.”
  • “A paradox of life: The problem with patience and discipline is that developing each of them requires both of them.”
  • “Do you think that a flower seed sits in the ground and says,’ This is going to take forever. I have to push all this dirt out of my way just to get to the surface and see the sun. Every time it rains or somebody waters me, I’m soaking wet and surrounded by mud, When do I get to bloom? That’s when I’ll be happy; that’s when everybody will be impressed by me. I hope, I’m an orchid and not some wildflower nobody notices.”
  • “This is where the fun begins.”