I am obsessed with pencils. My earliest memory of being in a classroom was in kindergarten-maybe even first grade? I can’t remember exactly, but the memory of my big chief tablet and a pencil the size of a giant Sequoia in my tiny hand still makes my heart flutter like a hummingbird.
That same thrill returned when I discovered a set of pastel-colored pencils at the gift shop of the San Antonio Botanical Garden. There they were, printed with mindfulness affirmations, quietly waiting for me to notice them. I’m writing this with one now, as it gently reminds me to Breathe Deep.
Why am I so enchanted by a simple piece of wood shaped into a slender cylinder, encasing graphite with a rubber tip on the end? The more I reflect, the more I see its connection to mindfulness.
We sharpen a pencil as mindfulness sharpens our awareness. A pencil is humble in its origin, just as we are when we remember we are part of a vast, living cosmos. A pencil draws our attention to sound and sensation just as meditation invites us to notice breath and body.
When a pencil erases, mindfulness teaches us to pause, reflect, and begin again. Just as we rub out mistakes, we grow into more awakened versions of ourselves, the pencil, made from organic material, mirrors us- spiritual traditions say we are composed of stardust. It’s a myth that a pencil contains lead; It holds graphite. Likewise, in mindfulness, we learn we are not our thoughts. Beneath the noise, our true nature is a tapestry of peace, love, joy, compassion, and gratitude.
Pencils are finite; they wear down with use. We, too, are impermanent. Our time here shortens as our cells gradually slow. Yet, within that truth lies beauty – each moment we write matters. The pencil is versatile- it can write in space, underwater, even upside down. In the same way, mindfulness meets us wherever we are: formal or informal, still or active, secular or spiritual. It adapts to the shape of our lives.
I see mindfulness in a pencil – it’s ready to sketch the outline of our lives, one conscious line at a time. As I press this new pencil gently to the page, it hums with quiet purpose. I hope my new purchase and I will co-author something beautiful – something that feels honest, awake, and alive.
In a world that often races past the ordinary, the pencil reminds me: the ordinary can be extraordinary. And sometimes, the most mindful journey begins with a single, thoughtful stroke.
