Being back at home, I’m finding that my practice is headed back to it’s old patterns. That is, it’s hit and miss. It’s not that I don’t want to practice. It’s that I want to do that and a number of other things too plus there’s a bunch of things that I’m required to do. So mediation, study, yoga, these things tend to get pushed aside. I need to force myself into a regimen to make sure that I stay the course but it needs to be a regimen that isn’t so stiff that I push back.
So, I started the day with a small meal, a short meditation session, thirty minutes worth of yoga, then sat down and listened to a dharma talk at Audio Dharma by Gil Fronsdal. Things were going well until the dharma talk. Shortly after I started listening to that, my mind began to wander. I had to keep rewinding to catch pieces I just listened to. I definitely did not get the most out of it. I’ll try listening to it again tomorrow during lunch. I imagine I’ll need it by then.
Afterwards, I decided to start on work around the house. In the past, I’ve always had a strong distaste for this kind of work. I do it but I hate it. What a lovely way to spend my time off. Of course, I’ve read the many things written about treating your work as part of your meditation practice. I always got a good chuckle out of that. I mean, it’s pretty hard to view work as meditation when you’re swearing under your breath the whole time. My work today – laundry and yard work – was different, though. It felt very much like meditation.
To my amusement, I found myself singing a song while I was working. The song was taught to us prior to one of His Holiness’ sessions last week. The song was in both Tibetan and Sanskrit and I’m sure I was mangling the words badly but it’s the thought that counts, right?
Once my work was done, I realized that a number of the people I know realized I was home and the phone calls and emails started coming in. People wanted things. They always do. That was part of what was wearing on me so heavily before I left but I certainly can’t expect that to go away. It’s part of what I need to learn to accept and deal with.
I think I did OK with that though. No swearing or grunting. No pacing. I didn’t do that thing with my hand and my face. So, yeah. That went well.
Recent Comments