So the secret is just to say “Yes!” and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself in the present moment, always yourself, without sticking to an old self. You forget all about yourself and are refreshed. You are a new self, and before that self becomes an old self, you say “Yes! And you walk to the kitchen for breakfast. So the point on each moment is to forget the point….
-Shunryu Suzuki, No Always So

Saying YES - Looking over my day today – take my car to the shop: Yes!; writing several client proposals and updating a business plan: Yes!; Schedule appointments: Yes! Time to exercise, to study, to meet a friend for tea: Yes! Sometimes saying yes is easy; other times it seems nearly impossible.

No problem – well, this can be a problem. Of course I have lots of problems. I’ve noticed that everyone has lots of problems. How can we say yes to our problems, without getting caught or confused by them?

Always yourself – How can we be anything but ourselves? And, when we say no, when we are not present, not grateful, it is easy to get lost, to not be ourselves.

Without sticking to an old self – I find it easy to “fall asleep” and get completely stuck by some idea of an old self. We all have our internal “tapes” that become habitual about who we are, about our problems, defining, narrowing, sometime choking our own sense of freedom and of possibility. How can we say yes, right now?

You forget about yourself – The Zen teacher Dogen says: To study Buddhism is to study yourself. To study yourself is to forget yourself. Paradoxical, and wonderful medicine. Saying Yes is a way to forget yourself…and take care of yourself.

The point is to forget the point – This phrase makes me smile. Time to get back to work.

What do these words of Shunryu Suzuki mean to you? How can you use these practices in your work and in your life?