What is rain but the product of a collision between thousands of minuscule droplets of water. It is this collection of droplets that joins with particles in the air such as dust and other foreign bodies that form a cloud. Through this process of collision and joining, the mass eventually becomes heavy enough to cause what we see as rain- liquid drops of water falling from the sky.
Day 1 of Sharon Salzberg’s Real Happiness Challenge, and here it was evening already and I hadn’t formally meditated. No, I wasn’t avoiding it, at least not this time. No, I hadn’t forgotten. In fact, it was on my mind when I was awakened by an energetic superhero toddler. I was aware of it as I mindfully engaged my child in creative exploration, hoping to captivate her enough to keep her at away from a husband recovering from a minor injury. I had accepted that the time would come and I was at peace with that understanding. When my second daughter arrived home sick the call to action grew, but I still held faith the time would come. The score on this super bowl Sunday- one husband and one sick child down, and one superhero blazing through the house for a touchdown. Much of my mindful time, between playing tea hostess, consisted of tearing down and rebuilding forts and elaborate animal circuses of the stuffed variety. The day was drawing to a close and I knew that I was not at my best meditating at night. I suppose I could have emailed Sharon to ask for a pass, forgiveness, or apply for these hours to somehow be credited toward my 28 days. I am sure my left brain could have drummed up many interesting dialogs for making sense of it. Instead, something interesting happened that I chalk up to being a long time practitioner of meditation and working with my mind. What occurred could only be described as faith. I knew that what needed to happen would occur in whatever way it was meant to. I believe it is because of that faith, and the dropping of the expectations and resultant stories, combined with a little determination that later I sat down for my first formal meditation on day one of the 28 day “commit to sit” challenge.
By the time I was able to meditate, it was raining and the imperfection of the day was nothing less than perfect. As I sat feeling my breath and hearing the rain, it occurred to me that our thoughts are in some ways similar to this process of precipitation. Just like the droplets, and other foreign particles, collide to produce a rain drop, so do the many experiences we live intermingle in various ways to bring forth thoughts which affect emotions and vice versa. When moisture drops become too heavy to stay in the cloud, it rains. When our mental flotsam and jetsam collide, we may feel emotional waves such as anger, sadness, and anxiety in various intensities. Meditation can help us cleanse like a rain shower.
I, along with meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg, challenge you to join us on this 28 day Real Happiness journey. You will find resources at SharonSalzberg.com and MyMindfulWayofLife.com Access a free sample meditation to follow along: Click for meditation
Come along there is still time to Begin!