The Dharma of the Present Progressive
In my teaching of communicative English to Indian students,one thing that I keep addressing is the use of the present progressive tense. The prolific use of this tense is one of the identifying characteristics of "Indianized British English." When I have students intruduce themselves, they almost invariably say "My name is ______. I am coming from ______." So in every class, I go over the use of the present progressive. In doing this, I've started noticing some interesting things about it that I'd like to share.
It seems to me that the present progressive can be an interesting (at least to an english major and quasi-Buddhist) meditation. As I sit here typing, I can say, "I am typing." In saying this, I'm indicating that my being ("am"-- a conjugated form of the infinitive "to be") is typing. Put another way, whatever I'm doing in the present progressive is what i "am". So when I'm walking, my whole being should be walking; I'm completely mindful and aware of walking. I'm not occupied by extraneous thoughts or distractions; all i am is the contact between my feet and the ground, the movement of my joints, and the air flowing into and out of my body. When I'm eating, my whole attention is on my food-- its texture in my hand, in my mouth, the act of chewing and swallowing, the way in which, through the digestive process, it becomes part of me. My whole being is the act of walking or eating or breathing.
So in any given moment, look at what you're doing, and make a statement about it in the present progressive tense: "I am typing." "I am reading." "I am playing with my child." "I am talking to a loved one." And become aware of if you really "are" whatever you're doing at the moment. If not, try to bring your full attention to what you're doing and be fully engaged in it.
If what we're doing is harmful or indicative of some negative feeling or fear-- "I am worrying," "I am crying,"--, by bringing awareness and mindfulness to the action, we can get in touch with the underlying emotion and its causes and let our mindfulnes take care of and soothe the fear or pain. No matter what we do, fully experiencing it in the present progressive can put us more in touch with the reality of what is happening.
I know this will sound ridiculous to a lot of people, what with the value we place on multi-tasking and the like. But I think this is an interesting way to look at our language and our lives, and can help to enrich both.
In my teaching of communicative English to Indian students,one thing that I keep addressing is the use of the present progressive tense. The prolific use of this tense is one of the identifying characteristics of "Indianized British English." When I have students intruduce themselves, they almost invariably say "My name is ______. I am coming from ______." So in every class, I go over the use of the present progressive. In doing this, I've started noticing some interesting things about it that I'd like to share.
It seems to me that the present progressive can be an interesting (at least to an english major and quasi-Buddhist) meditation. As I sit here typing, I can say, "I am typing." In saying this, I'm indicating that my being ("am"-- a conjugated form of the infinitive "to be") is typing. Put another way, whatever I'm doing in the present progressive is what i "am". So when I'm walking, my whole being should be walking; I'm completely mindful and aware of walking. I'm not occupied by extraneous thoughts or distractions; all i am is the contact between my feet and the ground, the movement of my joints, and the air flowing into and out of my body. When I'm eating, my whole attention is on my food-- its texture in my hand, in my mouth, the act of chewing and swallowing, the way in which, through the digestive process, it becomes part of me. My whole being is the act of walking or eating or breathing.
So in any given moment, look at what you're doing, and make a statement about it in the present progressive tense: "I am typing." "I am reading." "I am playing with my child." "I am talking to a loved one." And become aware of if you really "are" whatever you're doing at the moment. If not, try to bring your full attention to what you're doing and be fully engaged in it.
If what we're doing is harmful or indicative of some negative feeling or fear-- "I am worrying," "I am crying,"--, by bringing awareness and mindfulness to the action, we can get in touch with the underlying emotion and its causes and let our mindfulnes take care of and soothe the fear or pain. No matter what we do, fully experiencing it in the present progressive can put us more in touch with the reality of what is happening.
I know this will sound ridiculous to a lot of people, what with the value we place on multi-tasking and the like. But I think this is an interesting way to look at our language and our lives, and can help to enrich both.
posted by Andy at 2:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home