Fishing Without Bait 527: Be More Awake: Lessons From the Buddha
What does it mean to “be like the Buddha”?
It probably doesn't mean escaping ordinary life, eliminating every uncomfortable emotion, or somehow becoming perfect.
In Episode 527 of Fishing Without Bait, Jim Ellermeyer and Producer Mike look at the idea from a much more practical perspective: being awake.
Being awake means participating in the life that's actually happening instead of simply going through the motions.
Stop Sleepwalking Through Life
At one point, Jim brings up the band Asleep at the Wheel.
It's a funny name, but it leads into an important question: how often are we asleep at the wheel of our own lives?
We wake up. We work. We answer messages. We take care of responsibilities. We repeat routines. Before long, another week has disappeared.
Jim describes mindfulness as paying attention on purpose. The goal isn't to stop having routines. It's to actually notice the life happening inside them.
Learn more about Asleep at the Wheel:
https://www.asleepatthewheel.com/
Create Space Before You React
One of the central ideas in this conversation is the space between something happening and our response.
An angry message arrives.
Someone says something we don't like.
Plans change.
An expectation isn't met.
Our first reaction doesn't have to become our final response.
That small pause gives us the opportunity to ask whether what we're about to say is true, kind, and necessary. It gives us the ability to choose instead of simply react.
That's where Jim says freedom lives.
Compassion Doesn't Mean Being a Doormat
Being mindful and compassionate also doesn't require giving everyone unlimited access to us.
Jim and Mike talk about “time bandits” and “emotional vampires”—people or situations that can consume our attention, energy, and resources.
Sometimes the compassionate choice still requires a boundary.
We can care without fixing everything.
What If Your Life Didn't Go According to Plan?
Later in the episode, Mike reflects on an expectation he once had for adulthood: get a regular job, stay there for decades, move along a predictable career trajectory, and eventually get the bigger house.
Life didn't necessarily follow that script.
That brings him back to “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen),” the memorable spoken-word piece he first encountered as a teenager.
Mike connects with its reminder that our choices contain an element of chance. Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. A choice that didn't work doesn't have to become a lifelong regret.
Watch “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI
That idea fits naturally beside Jim's discussion of non-attachment.
We can make plans.
We can work toward goals.
We can choose a direction.
But we don't have to demand that life follow the exact script we've written for it.
Progress, Not Perfection
Being like the Buddha doesn't mean claiming superiority over anyone.
It means practicing.
Learning.
Recognizing when you've wandered away from your values and finding your way back.
Jim and Mike close with a challenge: don't spend this week trying to become perfect.
Try to become more awake.
Pay attention to what's in front of you. Notice when you're reacting automatically. Notice the expectations you're carrying. Notice when you're asleep at the wheel.
Then make the next choice.
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Continue your mindfulness practice with “Learn to Fish Without Bait: A 365-Day Mindfulness Journal and Adult Coloring Book”:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/james-ellermeyer-lpc-ma-ncc-lpc/learn-to-fish-without-bait/paperback/product-6n9rd8.html?page=1&pageSize=4
