By Mark Aoyagi
My daughter is 8 months old and hasn’t yet seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted anything boring or uninteresting. Everything she is presented with, it is as if she is experiencing it for the first time. True, there are many firsts for her. Also true is that her favorite “toy” for the past two weeks has been the same toothbrush. Each time she finds it or is handed it, she checks it out anew. Seeing the colors. Running her fingers over the surfaces. Tasting the bristles (well, all of it actually). When is the last time you were fascinated (or even mildly interested) by a toothbrush?
And yet there is much to be interested in. Where do the bristles come from? What are they made of? Why bristles? How do I even know the word “bristles?” How do they get the bristles into the plastic? Why don’t they come out?
This is an example of the aptly named Zen teaching of “child’s mind” or “beginner’s mind.” It is something most of us experience far too seldom. Imagine the possibilities if everything was possible. Fresh. Novel. How much excitement, change, and creativity might this bring to your life?
Tagged: beginner’s mind, child’s mind, creativity, discovery, focus, inspiration, zen 
Source: The Performance of Your Life