Each day brings a reminder that I cannot practice enough. I have more to learn, more awareness to be had, more compassion to cultivate. So I sit when I can — just sit.
Meditation often carries with it a connotation of being lofty, something mystics and monastics do because they can; their whole life devoted to being fully awakened. I’m sure monks would laugh at this. I know some nuns who certainly would. They, too, live in the real world with real people. Truthfully, meditation is for everyone. It’s an opportunity to be still, be clear, and be quiet — mind, body, and soul. So I sit when I can. I don’t do it often enough.
One morning not long ago I made time to sit. Intention is part of the doing, but ultimately one does have to do it. Ten minutes, twenty minutes. I can’t even remember how long I intended to sit. Most of the time I don’t set a timer. When I’m ready to quit, I know I need to stay longer.
Sitting. Breathing. Counting. Wandering. Returning. Sitting. Breathing. Footsteps . . . coming closer.
I feel the presence of our youngest creeping closer to me until she’s at my side, her mouth conveniently ear-level.
“Mom, I want a ponytail.”
Sweetness embodied in one simple request. I smiled, eyes still half-shut. I breathed deeply before turning to look at her. Her gaze met mine, neither hopeful nor pleading. She met me there in the moment.
“Alright,” I said softly.
I arose and went with her to the kids’ bathroom. I fixed her hair into a ponytail. Neither of us spoke.
The was no anger, no frustration. She had a ponytail, and I continued my meditation for the day.
My teacher didn’t smile, but she did run out of the bathroom quickly, happily moving on to her next adventure.