return to the regular sit
After a 7 or 8 year break meditation is gradually returning to my life. Last year in yearplan 2006 my brief was to put meditation at the top of the list and do that whatever else I had to drop. What happened? The opposite. So I wasn’t ready. My plan this year was to include it as part of my overall plan and do it once or twice a week, mainly for pleasure rather than as a practice. But I seem to be doing rather better than that.
I stopped a few years ago due to some very strong or deep experiences which made me reconsider my life as a whole, which is the whole point I guess. But there you have it. I stopped. It wasn’t a sudden stop, but a gradual one. I realised that I couldn’t do it as a sort of hobby like someone who jogs around the park once a week: I had to be an athlete or nothing. That was my attitude. And with an attitude like that I could not continue.
So now after a fairly long break I find that I can bring it back into my life without the same pressures and expectations. I don’t even feel like I need a to make a decision about whether I am going to take it seriously or not. It’s just nice and I am allowing time for it in my life. Perhaps it is a bit like the ex-athlete who likes a jog around the park having let go of their ambitions. We shall see.
It’s only a 20 minute sit compared my previous daily schedule of 2 hours. But it’s nice. I find that the best times are just after a yoga session or after my nap. Like spending time with an old friend.