We all want to be happy, but we often mistake a rush of excitement for happiness. Well-being is more of a sense of contentment, peacefulness, and connection with a place and people. We can feel a sense of connection with the world and people around us even when we are suffering from illness and experiencing difficulties.

The practices in this section focus on paying attention to ordinary activities in our daily lives—such as taking a shower, cleaning our teeth, washing the dishes, or drinking tea or coffee. These are the kind of activities that we do repeatedly and, as such, they slide into obscurity, each merging into the next, losing its unique identity. Oftentimes we are on automatic pilot to the degree that we look back and have no recollection of the process of getting up and going out of the door. In this way we lose the moments that make up our life and once lost, they are gone forever. By paying attention to these regular activities, we can reclaim the lost minutes of our day, and by connecting with our experience during these activities, we can connect more deeply with our life.

We can also reconnect with the world around us—by noticing the sky, the earth below our feet, and the people around us. Looking beyond ourselves, we can gain a wider perspective on our own life and our place on this planet.