Then I want you to take a step forward but when you do so I want you to let your leading foot come to rest, heel and toe before the heel of your trailing foot lifts clear of the surface on which your are standing. Can you do this without conscious thought or does it take a little focus, a smattering of concentration?
I was waiting for the C-train last night, and to pass the time I began what was going to be a walking meditation but the moment I took my first step I was aware that my trailing heel was lifting from the ground. The intial movement was from a conscious choice; the subsequent one was from habit. We do that far too often in our lives; we move unconsciously through the day living habitual lives with intemittent interrruptions of conscious choice.
Of course much of that unconscious living is necessary and deviating from some unconscious action could be disastrous. We rely on tacit knowledge to allow us to drive in rush hour traffic. If everyone had to consciously make a choice about how to safely drive at 100 kph there would be many more highway crashes.
Despite this we sometimes fall into living far too much of our lives that way. We are absent from moments that can be trivial or sublime. We often never know the difference. So to get back to the small experiment, try to find other ways of consciously living. Maybe you will find your own small experiment that you can share with others.
