Sunday, November 27, 2011

meditation







11/27/11 13:57
I’m sitting on the deck with a long sleeve shirt, not that I changed after church, instead I will wear the same clothes and just may change into some sweats. There is always work to do, earlier I gave Amanda a driving lesson I want her to lose her fear of driving; we drove in the parking lot at the train station and on the street which was quiet. Last night Amanda wanted to talk to Ali so I went to bed with Bella. Our sleeping patterns have changed since she came home from the hospital. The event was traumatic and something we never want to experience again. One of my worst fears came true that day, I never wanted to see anyone have a seizure, the fact they are not in control and appear possessed…Bella is fine, since she takes Keppra regularly. The neurologist said her epilepsy will go away as she ages, most likely in a couple of years she will not have any more seizures. They occur when she is sleeping and this is the reason why either Ali or myself sleeps with her. Most nights Ali falls asleep, taking her to bed so she is in the darkened bedroom by 9:30. There is no TV. When they were younger I would slowly rub their eyebrows till they would fall asleep and last night proved the same. The problem occurs when Ali or myself, come into the bed, there is not enough room in our queen for all of us. Last night I woke up a few times and finally at 3:30, came down to the living room for a few more hours of sleep. It was a broken sleep, interspersed with dreams which I don’t recall, one was a nightmare which I thought would make a good Stephen King novel, but it’s lost in my memories. Around seven I got out of the bed and went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I went outside, the air was foggy like my mind, the ground was moist and cool, I picked up the paper and went back in, not that any of my neighbors saw me, but I took in the sparse winter trees, the thick fog and heard a faint bird. Sunday mornings are somewhat hectic, today Emma was reading the first of advent services and will be reading at each consecutive Sunday, what does advent mean? The fact Jesus is coming. Our morning message was by Reverend Elaine and it was powerful, how we can call out for God and we’re not sure if he is there, how we get caught up in the busy holiday season and lose that inner voice that still is seeking…I was struck with when she referred to a theologian, whose name I don’t recall, that is was good to mourn, that if we don’t mourn we project a bitterness and hatred on the world. After the service I walked through the woods, smelled the sweet warm leaves and headed to the beach. It was mild enough for a stroll, a young couple with a black lab walked up from the woods and we greeted each other, the dog sniffed in my direction without a care assuming correctly I was not a threat. I took some pictures and appreciated the silence of the water. The wind was light and I meditated for close to twenty minutes, I sat in a lotus position on a washed up tree, the water barely broke into the shore, the tide crept into the grass carrying small fish and a light milky froth. My intention was to call out to God, why does my wife have to battle cancer? Why does my youngest daughter have epilepsy, instead I used my breath, let those thoughts pass and breathed in with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. What journey are we on? When will I learn some of the answers? Ali is going to chemo tomorrow. I hope to take the train and get to work on-time. I’m planning to go to Pennsylvania on Wednesday and hope to make it there…the last time I attempted a trip Bella was taken by an ambulance to the hospital.
“Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road. Our journey consists of constant ups and downs, hope and fear, but it is a good journey. The practice of mediation allows us to experience all the textures of the roadway, which is what the journey is all about. Through the practice of meditation, we begin to find that, within ourselves, there is no fundamental complaint about anything or anyone at all.” Discovering Basic Goodness by Chogyam Trungpa

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