"Wearing special clothes contains power. I knew a minister who wore a clerical collar every day. At one point he considered leaving the church, but in the end he decided to stay. What held him was a simple thought: He couldn't imagine not putting on his collar in the morning.
"When a traditional Buddhist monk or nun wakes in the morning, there are no choices to be made about what to wear. Every morning, he puts on his robe. Every morning, she puts on her sandals. Every morning, he takes his bowl to beg food for the day.
"Every time you put on your clothes in the morning this week, or change them during the day, or take them off at night, say to yourself, 'This is my robe, these are my sandals.' Whenever you take out your wallet to pay for something, say to yourself, "This is my begging bowl that the universe has filled." Use this as a way to remind yourself that, whatever role that you may be playing at the moment, your central calling is the same as that of anyone under religious orders: to be a person of peace, of calm, of mindfulness, of lovingkindness and compassion, of joy, and of equanimity. This is your true career."
