At the dojo after we slap out in the beginning we have the chance to sit and breathe, taking time to focus on the class ahead, mentally preparing and leaving what may hinder progression at the door. Depending on how my day or week has been can make that time difficult thus leaving me distracted in class. Because of this I have recently begun to do small sessions of meditation on my own during the day. While searching the internet about random thoughts that pop up during meditation i found an article that spoke of a Buddhist metaphor about the thoughts being like a leaf in the river and to just let it float by and away. So this past week during our meditation time at the beginning of class i have found it helpful for myself to imagine all of my random and burdened thoughts from the day or week as leaves and i toss them into the river letting them float away leaving me with a clearer, lighter mind ready to learn. Outside of the dojo I have been making steady progress on 2 of my goals with my goal of the novel having some difficulty progressing due to writers block. On the requirement of mending a broken relationship I have done much searching and finally found the address,hopefully it is right, of my old college roomate. We had a pretty big argument at the end of a semester when we lived in the dorms together and after I moved out we never spoke again. Before the argument we got along pretty well and I regret losing my temper with her, especially because what she did was the right thing to do and I was the one in the wrong yelling at her like I did. After all these years it still bothers me and am ashamed about it. I plan on writing her a letter soon and mailing it to the address I found hoping it is the right one. I will update on it if any resolution is made. Something new I will be adding to my blog is my favorite act of kindness from the week. This week my favorite act of kindness was shoveling out the car next to mine while I was shoveling mine out too.
Thanks for reading
Chelsea Hughes
I love the leaves in a river metaphor, Chelsea! Another metaphor I've used is floating clouds. I also like to think of my breath as my anchor. When we get caught up in and distracted by our thoughts, we can simply notice that and come back to our breath, our anchor.
ReplyDeleteI love the metaphor as well! I may have to use it when I have to clear my own head...which is often! haha! I am also proud of you for reaching out to your old roommate. I am sure she will be receptive, but even if she is not the act of reflecting, taking responsibility for your side of things, and attempting to make amends is a huge step towards personal growth. I look forward to hearing the result.
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