So Long, Bob  | |
| The Death of the Album? | |
 | My Practice of Zen in the Office |
| My Blank Pages | |
| Classical Confusion |
My Practice of Zen in the Office by Jennifer HalpernI've been practicing Zen at the office. My mantra is ‘you're not your job.' I am diligent when working on the task at hand. I am aware of my surroundings – the phone ringing, the people chatting, the relentless coughing and sneezing up and down the corridors of cubicles, the IM's, the emails, the eavesdropping of my own ears on my boss' words, the hum of machines and so on – while my whole self is on a mission to complete this task faster and more efficiently then ever before. Once this task is taken care of, I cross it off my list, almost completely forget about it, and become realigned with the next task on my list. I may get interrupted, but like a tethered ball I snap right back to where I belong – to the task I've be hired to manage. As you may understand from the above description, I give my mind and body to the job, but I am not my job, it is only what I do. My practice of Zen in the office allows me to be aware of the ways my used body and mind is not who I am, and I am not my job. What I am is what is behind the task, behind the voice, behind the face and body. Who I am is sitting quietly and amused watching the little gears I am turning in the big office machine. There is another type of segment to my practice. It occurs on my walks to the photocopier, boss' office, coffee machine, and colleagues' desks. Somehow when I remove my eyes from the monitor, detach my wrists from the desk, and peel my back side away from the chair, I have a new world in front of me, and a new kind of way to practice Zen. I have a hard time working out what to do with myself in such a small window of time – but I hope to master the art of small window of time Zen some day. Another segment of my practice is at the time of walking to – and existing in – the office bathroom. This is a prized time for the spiritual soul in the office. It is a time when we can be most physically and mentally alone. It is such a joyous time that it is frequent when one tries to prolong this experience by walking uncharacteristically slow, washing hands more than twice, observing the familiar sights to and from at a skeptical pace, or simply practicing meditation on the toilet. The above is just a small introduction to my practice of Zen in the office. There are many more segments to the practice, and these few segments I have made light of can be explored much deeper. If you are a 9-5 office worker who practices Zen; I would love to hear from you. If you are a 9-5 office worker, and are new to this practice; I hope I have given you something new to ponder. If you are neither of these then I trust I have re-affirmed why you have chosen a different path. If you are any of these things please do come back to find out more of the things I am learning while practicing Zen in the office. Jennifer Halpern is Being There's resident graphic designer. |  |
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