MEDITATION PRACTICE

It's not easy to keep a practice going over the holiday season. For myself, the visit of our five year-old grandson made it particularly challenging. He wakes early every morning at precisely my usual meditation time and needs attention. To leave the bedroom for my customary sitting spot in the living room before he wakes, even on tiptoe, is to risk waking him even earlier. I have been resorting, then, in the past few days, to maintaining my practice as best I can while lying prone in bed! Not the best solution; inevitably--and seductively!--it invites further sleep, and the attention tends to wander off very easily into those pleasant daydreams one enjoys in the early hours.

This morning, then, with the family gone, was the first opportunity to return to my familiar place for a sit. First, though, Jake the dog needed his pee and poop walk. With a storm approaching from off the coast, I wanted to get that done before the rain came. So we took care of business at 6 a.m., and Jake then joined me on the couch, snuggling up comfortably beside me as he usually does. I don't think he meditates; I think he just sleeps. But who knows? After a few moments to scratch and settle himself, he stays very still...

A pleasure, then, to return to my routine, and to enjoy a good half hour's concentrated sit. And now the rain is falling steadily.