FAILING MEDITATION 101

I failed Meditation 101 today. It seems like I couldn't do most anything "by the book," even though it was a beautiful morning to be on my walking meditation path. It's Saturday, so the path was full of others taking advantage of a sunny, warm December solstice. Lots of dog-walkers, joggers, bicyclists, but my mindfulness kept getting distracted.

One's meditation should be an attempt to become mindful of one's place in the universe, allowing the inevitable distractions to pass through your mind and concentrating on "I am." Perhaps even getting to the point where the "I" becomes irrelevant and one is mindful of existence as part of the universe with no beginning and no end.

Well, I didn't get there today -- not even close. I became more and more mindful of the distractions, partly because they were making me feel more and more a part of the universe:

The two older immigrant men who were walking arm in arm, comfortable in their old-world clothes, comfortable in their native language and comfortable in how they expressed their friendship.

The two cyclists talking and laughing as they cruised by with synchronized pedaling. Were they laughing about having to bunny-hop over a rattlesnake sunning on the pavement? About a sore butt after their early morning fifty-miler? Whatever it was, they were obviously in the moment -- and joyfully so.

The family parade with the two young kids on their training-wheeled bicycles leading the way while their parents sagged them with strollers full of jackets, blankets, lunch and snacks. The parents themselves being the link between the kids and the grandparents walking behind, juggling their lattes as they hurried to keep up. They seemed quite happy to accept a level of chaos in exchange for being with their grandkids for the day.

The elderly couple sitting in the warm sun on a bench flanked by a cane and a walker. It had taken quite an effort to get to that point (in more ways than one), but there they were, smiling and holding hands. As I walked in front of them I felt the warmth -- was it the sun?  Or the warmth of the love between the two of them?