Stefan Godo
GTD Connect
good topic, thanks for bringing it up and for all the valuable inputs. It is appearing regularly in client discussions.
Managing recurring chores in GTD
- Thread starter ianfh10
- Start date
Oogiem
0
I use a fairly large number of inactive checklists in my list manager. Not just for things that are traditional checklists but also for things that I know how to do and don't need the checklist at all to do but it would be important to have the checklist if I cannot do them.
Checklists are an important part of both emergency and estate management for me.
gtdstudente
Registered
Hope the following is helpful. . . .
For recurring chores and keeping all well, GTD becomes: "Empty Things Empty . . . and . . . Full Things Full"
Thus: Getting Things Empty (GTE) and Getting Things Full (GTF)
Practically speaking, "E M P T Y ?" seems to be more prevalent
Two Context Lists: E M P T Y ? and F U L L ?
E M P T Y ?
d [divine] - Spiritual Meditative Thoughts on Christ: "I am the Way. . . .", Thus, "He is/was either Crazy, a Liar, or God," C.S. Lewis
h [health] - Brain Dump - Write down/out the 'brain-memory gunk/junk'
h - Food(s) - Use Items Approaching Expiration(s)
u [utility] - Calendar
u - Car: All-Mirrors, Headlights, Tail-lights, Trunk, Windshield (All-Glass)
u - Classic David Allen Paraphrase: "Is anything where it shouldn't be"
u - Context List(s)
u - Dirt/Dust = Clean
Looking for inspiration?
I knew first-hand of a Dominican Republic family who took all of the furniture [besides appliances] out of the house (Every Wednesday), Cleaned the House, and placed all of the furniture back into the house). Perhaps one might objectively agree; while the family's means were in fact humble, their cleanliness was royal! David Allen Paraphrase: "Success [in life] is what you want to experience"
u - Dryer
u - Dryer - Lint Filter
u - Email
u - Floor(s)
u - Hamper
u - Inbox
u - Sink
u - Snow
u - Strainer
u - Surface(s)
u - Trash
etc.
F U L L ?
d - Chaplet: Divine Mercy
d - Holy Rosary
h - Medications
h - Refrigerator
h - Water-Bottle
u - Car - Fluid(s): 1. Brake-Fluid, 2. Coolant, 3. Engine-Oil, 4. Transmission-Fluid, 5. Wind-Shield Washer
u - Car - Gas-Tank
u - Car - Tires: 1. Air, 2. Alignment, 3. Balanced, 4. Properly-Torqued (Excess can Warp Rotors [Bump, Bump, when Braking, ugh] ), 5. Rotated
etc.
For recurring chores and keeping all well, GTD becomes: "Empty Things Empty . . . and . . . Full Things Full"
Thus: Getting Things Empty (GTE) and Getting Things Full (GTF)
Practically speaking, "E M P T Y ?" seems to be more prevalent
Two Context Lists: E M P T Y ? and F U L L ?
E M P T Y ?
d [divine] - Spiritual Meditative Thoughts on Christ: "I am the Way. . . .", Thus, "He is/was either Crazy, a Liar, or God," C.S. Lewis
h [health] - Brain Dump - Write down/out the 'brain-memory gunk/junk'
h - Food(s) - Use Items Approaching Expiration(s)
u [utility] - Calendar
u - Car: All-Mirrors, Headlights, Tail-lights, Trunk, Windshield (All-Glass)
u - Classic David Allen Paraphrase: "Is anything where it shouldn't be"
u - Context List(s)
u - Dirt/Dust = Clean
Looking for inspiration?
I knew first-hand of a Dominican Republic family who took all of the furniture [besides appliances] out of the house (Every Wednesday), Cleaned the House, and placed all of the furniture back into the house). Perhaps one might objectively agree; while the family's means were in fact humble, their cleanliness was royal! David Allen Paraphrase: "Success [in life] is what you want to experience"
u - Dryer
u - Dryer - Lint Filter
u - Email
u - Floor(s)
u - Hamper
u - Inbox
u - Sink
u - Snow
u - Strainer
u - Surface(s)
u - Trash
etc.
F U L L ?
d - Chaplet: Divine Mercy
d - Holy Rosary
h - Medications
h - Refrigerator
h - Water-Bottle
u - Car - Fluid(s): 1. Brake-Fluid, 2. Coolant, 3. Engine-Oil, 4. Transmission-Fluid, 5. Wind-Shield Washer
u - Car - Gas-Tank
u - Car - Tires: 1. Air, 2. Alignment, 3. Balanced, 4. Properly-Torqued (Excess can Warp Rotors [Bump, Bump, when Braking, ugh] ), 5. Rotated
etc.
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Oogiem
0
What a creative way to define the things. Thanks!
gtdstudente
Registered
Thank you for the encouragement and especially your kindness. Thank you!
Can you say more about how you set this up?
Sebastien.pi
Registered
"The power of habits" by Charles Duhigg.
A must-read book !
benedikt
Registered
For these things I have a checklist in my weekly review: household. Things like the following are on it:
Usually I do these things automatically. The list helps keeping an eye on them to not let it slip. So you can think of it as a fallback checklist. Works quite good for me.
- Does fridge need sorting of overdue items?
- Is laundry piling up?
- Bring away recycling material (glass, plastic etc.)
- Are windows clean?
Usually I do these things automatically. The list helps keeping an eye on them to not let it slip. So you can think of it as a fallback checklist. Works quite good for me.
schmeggahead
Registered
My wife taught me to tie these sorts of things to regular events. Fridge sorting occurs concurrent with weekly grocery shopping.
Laundry is started Saturday AM.
Recycling is taken when Rosie (my poodle) needs to go for a ride.
However, growing up extremely near sighted, the window cleaning escapes me because I could never see it.
Clayton.
No is a complete sentence.
Mrs-Polifax
Registered
I have been wondering how to create Routines in GTD. I struggle with understanding lists because too much input at once confuses and overwhelms me. That could be a problem (project) in GTD, since I believe GTD is a list-based system.
I read a book "Sidetracked Home Executives" a couple of years ago. The book gave me the idea of using index cards for household or personal Routines. Awhile ago, I started implementing the idea of using 4x6 index cards for Routines. I put one single-action item on each index card. I used as many index cards as I needed. When all the items I thought belonged together were on the index cards, I clipped the index cards together as a Routine.
I made a temporary 4x6 file box from a product container. I made file box dividers by gluing together two index cards back to back. I glued a small hanging file folder tab in between the two glued cards. These tabs tilt at an angle that makes them conveniently easy to read (unlike typical file box divider tabs). Each tab fits into a 2-inch space on the divider, which makes room for three tab positions on the card (i.e., they are 1/3 cut).
I started with my daily Routines. I divided my day into general time periods. I created Routines for each time period, as needed. For instance, I created dividers for before breakfast tasks, breakfast tasks, and after breakfast tasks. The labels on my divider cards corresponded to the names of my Routines.
I read the card, and I do the activity. On the back of each card, I created a grid for each date of month and for each month of the year. When done, I flip the card over, locate the month and the date on the card, and mark the item done with an X. Then I go on to the next item. I may be groggy when I wake up. This helps me focus.
I am gradually learning by doing, and some things are becoming automatic. I will keep the Routines cards for as long as I need them. They are not part of a GTD system at this point. I'm new to GTD, and I'm not sure yet how Routines would fit into GTD. Maybe in reference files as a list labeled Routines.
I like this 4x6 index card system for Routines. When I have only one single-action item per card, I understand better what I need to do, and I can focus better. I think index cards might be used in a GTD system rather than lists, such as for Next Actions, etc.
I read a book "Sidetracked Home Executives" a couple of years ago. The book gave me the idea of using index cards for household or personal Routines. Awhile ago, I started implementing the idea of using 4x6 index cards for Routines. I put one single-action item on each index card. I used as many index cards as I needed. When all the items I thought belonged together were on the index cards, I clipped the index cards together as a Routine.
I made a temporary 4x6 file box from a product container. I made file box dividers by gluing together two index cards back to back. I glued a small hanging file folder tab in between the two glued cards. These tabs tilt at an angle that makes them conveniently easy to read (unlike typical file box divider tabs). Each tab fits into a 2-inch space on the divider, which makes room for three tab positions on the card (i.e., they are 1/3 cut).
I started with my daily Routines. I divided my day into general time periods. I created Routines for each time period, as needed. For instance, I created dividers for before breakfast tasks, breakfast tasks, and after breakfast tasks. The labels on my divider cards corresponded to the names of my Routines.
I read the card, and I do the activity. On the back of each card, I created a grid for each date of month and for each month of the year. When done, I flip the card over, locate the month and the date on the card, and mark the item done with an X. Then I go on to the next item. I may be groggy when I wake up. This helps me focus.
I am gradually learning by doing, and some things are becoming automatic. I will keep the Routines cards for as long as I need them. They are not part of a GTD system at this point. I'm new to GTD, and I'm not sure yet how Routines would fit into GTD. Maybe in reference files as a list labeled Routines.
I like this 4x6 index card system for Routines. When I have only one single-action item per card, I understand better what I need to do, and I can focus better. I think index cards might be used in a GTD system rather than lists, such as for Next Actions, etc.
Stefan Godo
GTD Connect
1. People usually misunderstand lists. There is no question whether they use them. It is only a question WHERE they store them and what is their status. If they do not WRITE lists, they have them in their head, and due to the capacity of usual mind - chaotic.
e.g. If you use a calendar, you use a list. If you use a grocery list, here you go. If you use checkLISTS...
For routines, until not remembered automatically, use checklists - just as you do. The form does not matter, if you like index cards - perfect.
2. it does not matter much where you store these checklists, until you can retrieve them at the right moment in a few seconds
(in Ref its OK )
Mrs-Polifax
Registered
Hello, Stefan Godo.
Thank you so much for responding. I believe you are saying that the important thing about a list in any form is that it is intended to be a holding place for whatever "stuff' has my attention, so I can get that "stuff" off my mind and into a trusted system where I can find it quickly and easily when needed.
I believe you are also saying that any method that does that is fine in GTD, whether a Routine is written on an index card and filed with other Routines in a file box, or a list of Routines is filed in a Reference file, or virtually anything else, because having a trusted system and a free mind fulfills the intended function of a list in GTD.
Of course, I do not have a trusted system and a free mind YET, but getting everything on my mind that is not the way I want it now into a system is a very big job and will take quite a bit of time. Less than I think, maybe, but more than the few hours or days David Allen described. I hear that he is now saying it takes a few years to really get started with a GTD system, and that seems more realistic to me.
I was feeling uneasy about the "right" tools and methods to use for GTD, which was making GTD more difficult for me than it apparently needs to be. I understood that a trusted system and a free mind are critical in GTD, but I didn't get it that the tools and methods do not matter, as long as they do the job. I feel relieved now because I can choose the tools and methods that suit me. Apparently what does matter in a GTD system is the outcome.
I now believe I need a GTD system I can completely trust to reliably capture all my "stuff" and hold it in an easily and quickly retrievable way. The GTD processing model of capture, clarify, organize, review, and engage shows me how to develop a trustworthy system. However, it has too few nitty-gritty details for me about the tools and methods to use, and I was confused about how to proceed. Now I understand that this is because the tools and methods can be whatever works, and other than that, they do not matter. The final outcome is said to be "mind like water." That sounds like a very quiet, resourceful, and welcome place.
I am a beginner at GTD, since I have never even begun to implement a GTD system, but I did study David Allen's first GTD book for many years. I took his book with me to read every time I left the house because it fascinated me. Like a person trying to decode a crucial secret messsage, I needed to understand it, but something essential always seemed to elude me. I even designed forms for each kind of list, and I printed them, but I was never able to grasp how to proceed with them.
I remember thinking with bewilderment that I could not put my entire home into my inbox, although doing that would have followed from the instructions in the book. That hung me up for years until I finally realized after reading something recently that I could put a note in my inbox instead that said "My entire home is a problem for me and is not the way I want it." There must have been some confusion about my thinking that prevented me from realizing that earlier. That makes sense because I was overwhelmed by everything that was wrong for me. I think it was true for me that people who really need GTD are the ones who find it hardest to implement.
I would still be studying the GTD book now, if I hadn't lost it one day at my medical center. I set it down on a counter, and it inadverently fell down the stairwell. I looked everywhere but it had entirely disappeared. I felt so badly that I decided someone must have found the book who needed it even more than I did. That way, I could believe that something good had come out of that loss.
I think it will help me a lot now to realize that there are no "right" methods or tools, and that I can implement the GTD system in any way that works for me. It is surprising that I did not realize this, but it is difficult to get outside of one's perceptions to recognize where they go wrong.
Thank you so much for responding. I believe you are saying that the important thing about a list in any form is that it is intended to be a holding place for whatever "stuff' has my attention, so I can get that "stuff" off my mind and into a trusted system where I can find it quickly and easily when needed.
I believe you are also saying that any method that does that is fine in GTD, whether a Routine is written on an index card and filed with other Routines in a file box, or a list of Routines is filed in a Reference file, or virtually anything else, because having a trusted system and a free mind fulfills the intended function of a list in GTD.
Of course, I do not have a trusted system and a free mind YET, but getting everything on my mind that is not the way I want it now into a system is a very big job and will take quite a bit of time. Less than I think, maybe, but more than the few hours or days David Allen described. I hear that he is now saying it takes a few years to really get started with a GTD system, and that seems more realistic to me.
I was feeling uneasy about the "right" tools and methods to use for GTD, which was making GTD more difficult for me than it apparently needs to be. I understood that a trusted system and a free mind are critical in GTD, but I didn't get it that the tools and methods do not matter, as long as they do the job. I feel relieved now because I can choose the tools and methods that suit me. Apparently what does matter in a GTD system is the outcome.
I now believe I need a GTD system I can completely trust to reliably capture all my "stuff" and hold it in an easily and quickly retrievable way. The GTD processing model of capture, clarify, organize, review, and engage shows me how to develop a trustworthy system. However, it has too few nitty-gritty details for me about the tools and methods to use, and I was confused about how to proceed. Now I understand that this is because the tools and methods can be whatever works, and other than that, they do not matter. The final outcome is said to be "mind like water." That sounds like a very quiet, resourceful, and welcome place.
I am a beginner at GTD, since I have never even begun to implement a GTD system, but I did study David Allen's first GTD book for many years. I took his book with me to read every time I left the house because it fascinated me. Like a person trying to decode a crucial secret messsage, I needed to understand it, but something essential always seemed to elude me. I even designed forms for each kind of list, and I printed them, but I was never able to grasp how to proceed with them.
I remember thinking with bewilderment that I could not put my entire home into my inbox, although doing that would have followed from the instructions in the book. That hung me up for years until I finally realized after reading something recently that I could put a note in my inbox instead that said "My entire home is a problem for me and is not the way I want it." There must have been some confusion about my thinking that prevented me from realizing that earlier. That makes sense because I was overwhelmed by everything that was wrong for me. I think it was true for me that people who really need GTD are the ones who find it hardest to implement.
I would still be studying the GTD book now, if I hadn't lost it one day at my medical center. I set it down on a counter, and it inadverently fell down the stairwell. I looked everywhere but it had entirely disappeared. I felt so badly that I decided someone must have found the book who needed it even more than I did. That way, I could believe that something good had come out of that loss.
I think it will help me a lot now to realize that there are no "right" methods or tools, and that I can implement the GTD system in any way that works for me. It is surprising that I did not realize this, but it is difficult to get outside of one's perceptions to recognize where they go wrong.
Your post is making me want to recommend Dana K. White's book, "How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind."
Her methods are good for fighting off overwhelm, and I think that they are sufficiently compatible with GTD. I'm not saying that she mentions GTD--I have no particular reason to think that she's heard of it. But I do feel that they're compatible.
Stefan Godo
GTD Connect
Hi, Mrs. Polifax. I think that David Allen put in the GTD book everything - it is an encyclopedia, so to start from scratch and implement it all at once might seem too complicated. And to understand its ultimate simplicity on your own is a long journey.
In reality everybody DOES at least FOUR of the steps described in GTD. Just not in a consistent way.
You are reading this reply (=you capture), you decide what it means to you (=clarify) and based on the decision you either move on (=no action, irrelevant) or make a reminder for an action, etc. somewhere (=organise). If the latter, you might do the action, when it pops up (engage).
SOME of the people do the fifth (review) as well.
It all depends what is your preferred way of reaching your goal (quiet mind).
If you want to learn this to do professionally, you have two options. Go on your own (book or the implementation guide) or go for a course with a professional trainer. Latter costs more money, but saves a ton of time and wasted effort (mistakes).
So it all comes to your preferences: long discovery (perfect if you love finding new stuff and do not care of meandering) or fast learning (results soon, support).
This discussion is somewhere inbetween. Have a perfect day!
Mrs-Polifax
Registered
Hi, Gardener:
Thanks so much for wanting to contribute to my well-being by giving me your recommendation of Dana K. White's book. From the title, it sounds like something I could use. I found it at the library and put it on hold right after I saw your post. I still have some weeks to wait for it, and I'll take a look.
I have been looking through the posts here on the forum for help and inspiration. I am not a gardener myself, but my mom was rooted in the earth and loved to be out in the sun and garden, so I absorbed unknowingly a spiritual regard for the earth and for living things from her love of gardening. I enjoy the way you use gardening metaphors and examples to talk about the GTD process
Mrs-Polifax
Registered
Hi, Mrs. Polifax. I think that David Allen put in the GTD book everything - it is an encyclopedia, so to start from scratch and implement it all at once might seem too complicated. And to understand its ultimate simplicity on your own is a long journey.
In reality everybody DOES at least FOUR of the steps described in GTD. Just not in a consistent way.
You are reading this reply (=you capture), you decide what it means to you (=clarify) and based on the decision you either move on (=no action, irrelevant) or make a reminder for an action, etc. somewhere (=organise). If the latter, you might do the action, when it pops up (engage).
SOME of the people do the fifth (review) as well.
It all depends what is your preferred way of reaching your goal (quiet mind).
If you want to learn this to do professionally, you have two options. Go on your own (book or the implementation guide) or go for a course with a professional trainer. Latter costs more money, but saves a ton of time and wasted effort (mistakes).
So it all comes to your preferences: long discovery (perfect if you love finding new stuff and do not care of meandering) or fast learning (results soon, support).
This discussion is somewhere inbetween. Have a perfect day!
Hi, Stefan Godo,
Thanks for your comments. I started many years ago wanting passionately to Get Things Done, and only now that I have been reading forum posts for guidance and have watched more of DA's videos is it getting through to me that GTD is more about inner quiet and relaxed presence than about Getting Things Done per se.
GTD now seems to be an instruction manual on how to get centered and grounded, similar to a Zen practice. It does not matter which Zen method one studies, whether it is brush painting, archery, or tea ceremony, because although they are indeed practices that can lead to great skill, it is not about learning a skill. It is about learning the inner discipline that frees one to be present, spontaneous, and grounded in the moment, to be in harmony with the universe, and to be deeply trusting of one's own inner resources.
I think this is what I really want. Not so much to Get Things Done but to get them off my mind and to be able to be at peace and enjoy my life with presence instead of feeling overwhelmed and driven and exhausted, like I am running as fast as I can just to stay in one place. It feels good to me that I begin to see what I want, even a bit in a metaphorical way, and that I begin to make sense of this GTD system that has deeply fascinated me for years.
I believe I hear you saying that there are several paths to learning GTD: The fast way of finding an experienced GTD coach, the slow way of doing it on my own, and the in-between way of adding resources like the forum to speed up the slow way somewhat. You say that how I approach learning GTD is my choice and depends on how I prefer to take the journey. Food for thought.
I am retired, and I am not using GTD in a professional capacity. However, as I am getting older. things that have been hard are getting harder, and it concerns me that I may not be able to get the things done that need to be done without some help in time to meet potential emergencies.
Can you direct me to the implementation guide. I haven't heard of that. Perhaps someone can refer me to a listing of GTD coaches, so I can look into the cost. Thanks!
Stefan Godo
GTD Connect
Hi Mrs. Polifax,
deep thoughts. Thanks.
From the point of view you used, GTD is actually a preparatory (not only ) practice for everyday mindfulness (ZEN if you want).
It is (also) about "managing" interruptions (mostly our own mind). "Notice what has your attention" is one of the deepest thoughts by David.
And obviously it has the surface layer of mundane as well as deeper ones up to our deep (eventually given?) convictions. = from actions through project up to purpose and principles - to use the GTD "higher horizon" terminology.
you know the GTD book.
here is the workbook (I called it implementation guide):
Here you find local trainers/coaches: https://gettingthingsdone.com/training-coaching/
have a beautiful day.
Stefan
deep thoughts. Thanks.
From the point of view you used, GTD is actually a preparatory (not only
) practice for everyday mindfulness (ZEN if you want).It is (also) about "managing" interruptions (mostly our own mind). "Notice what has your attention" is one of the deepest thoughts by David.
And obviously it has the surface layer of mundane as well as deeper ones up to our deep (eventually given?) convictions. = from actions through project up to purpose and principles - to use the GTD "higher horizon" terminology.
you know the GTD book.
here is the workbook (I called it implementation guide):
Here you find local trainers/coaches: https://gettingthingsdone.com/training-coaching/
have a beautiful day.
Stefan
Mrs-Polifax
Registered
Hi Mrs. Polifax,
deep thoughts. Thanks.
From the point of view you used, GTD is actually a preparatory (not only
It is (also) about "managing" interruptions (mostly our own mind). "Notice what has your attention" is one of the deepest thoughts by David.
And obviously it has the surface layer of mundane as well as deeper ones up to our deep (eventually given?) convictions. = from actions through project up to purpose and principles - to use the GTD "higher horizon" terminology.
you know the GTD book.
here is the workbook (I called it implementation guide):
Here you find local trainers/coaches: https://gettingthingsdone.com/training-coaching/
have a beautiful day.
Stefan
Hi, Stefan Godo and everyone!
Thanks a lot for the coaching link. I saved that to my favorites. I'm glad to have it.
I'm amused because I was thinking of what you call the GTD implementation guide as something unknown to me. Instead, I find that I already have it on hold at my online City library. I know it as the GTD Workbook. I haven't yet read it, but I will get it in a few weeks. I buy very few books, but I enjoy having books in person, especially for studying, so once I take a look at it and see how I like it, I may buy it.
Thanks for acknowledging my deep thoughts about GTD and how that led me, even if a little bit, to what matters to me as I continue to sort that out. These are things worth thinking about that I have not taken time to think about.
It is very interesting about the David Allen prescription for noticing, "What has my attention now?" At first I thought of this as what do I need to do, or put a stake in the ground about, or put on a list. Now I'm starting to think of it as anything that arises in me, such as my uneasy worry, fear, reluctance, or avoidance about attending to something that concerns my family.
This reminds me very much of an awareness and emotional growth process I've been involved in called Focusing, developed by Eugene Gendlin, a psychologist and philosopher, and extended by Ann Weiser Cornell, Gendlin's student. In this process, we notice whatever arises for us now in this moment. We let ourselves sense it within us. We sense its contours in a fresh way, the way it is for us right now, by attending to our body sensations. It is a different way of knowing, as if we have an additional sense we do not know we have.
This might be familiar to some of us in that odd way we have of knowing we have forgotten to pack something important for our trip, and feeling uneasy, even frustrated, because we do not clearly know what that something is. We know it isn't our toothbrush; we know it isn't that book we wanted to share, even though we had forgotten that, too. Suddenly it comes to us very clearly. Ah, yes! It is the photos of an important event we wanted to take to a friend that we had forgotten to pack. We feel relieved to have found that knowing, even though we may feel some sadness, too, if it is too late to pack the item. How did we know which things weren't the one we had forgotten? How did we recognize the one specfic thing we had forgotten?
Focusing helps people relearn how to connect to our inner knowing, which is often disregarded or suppressed in our culture. This is done by noticing what is arising for me now. It is often on the vague, unclear, and as yet unformed edge of awareness. The Focusing process gets deeper and deeper, like the GTD onion mentioned by oogiem.
It occurred to me with uncanny recognition that if I look at it from a certain perspective, this is very similar to asking David Allen's question: What has my attention now? I didn't realize that I was getting into what I need to learn to this deep extent in GTD, but I can see the dance between these connected things on my learning journey.
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Stefan Godo
GTD Connect
Hi Mrs. Polifax,
dealing with *what happens* is an ancient practice. In our culture we are usually stuck on the very outside. Any meditation practice starts at the outside objects, then continues to the body+breath, then to the thoughts, then to the sensations, etc...
this exists many thousands of years (we know of). Mr. Gendlins work fits nicely in the rediscovery of this by western psychologists.
you can consider GTD (apart from its value for organizing everyday stuff) as the most practical tool for preparing oneself for these practices. With a mind full of everyday stuff, the associative "minding process" is almost impossible to observe (even without it it is difficult without training).
have a fine day
Stefan
Here’s a quote from Jack Kornfield, a well-known US meditation teacher:
My teacher Achaan Chah described this commitment as “taking the one seat.” He said, “Just go into the room and put one chair in the center. Take the seat in the center of the room, open the doors and the windows, and see who comes to visit. You will witness all kinds of scenes and actors, all kinds of temptations and stories, everything imaginable. Your only job is to stay in your seat. You will see it all arise and pass, and out of this, wisdom and understanding will come.”
My teacher Achaan Chah described this commitment as “taking the one seat.” He said, “Just go into the room and put one chair in the center. Take the seat in the center of the room, open the doors and the windows, and see who comes to visit. You will witness all kinds of scenes and actors, all kinds of temptations and stories, everything imaginable. Your only job is to stay in your seat. You will see it all arise and pass, and out of this, wisdom and understanding will come.”