patience in meditation practice
Everything about our culture trains us from Day 1 to achieve prescribed outcomes by certain stages of our lives. If we don’t meet those standards, we are often given some sort of remediation. Think of schools these days!
This concept gets more engrained and out of balance as we uncritically assume the false values of success and achievement showcased on social media and mix these with tech and the habit of instant search results and shopping. Waiting is not a popular message. Taking time is not trend setting.
and then we sit and meditate
…and nothing happens right away. Maybe nothing happens for weeks, months, and years. Maybe nothing happens in one lifetime. The “nothing” is relative, of course.
Something is always happening; we just may not be noticing because we are too in a hurry to achieve whatever we are expecting.
deep middle age
As someone in deep middle age, I am coming to terms with the idea that I will probably take my last breath and still be bumping around with my monkey mind and all of my traumas, and I will not be Moses, Jesus, Harriet Tubman, nor the Dalai Lama.
Thankfully, I’ve realized I don’t have to be any of those people. I just need to be me. My aspiration is no longer some lofty idea of liberation or enlightenment. I want to be kind to myself, family, friends, and the people that piss me off. I’m good with that. Patience is good medicine.