Meditation is an old and honorable practice, perhaps this is why few corporations and no health care plans would consider paying for it or encouraging. It is, for me, the key to awakening. My own practice is deepening. Breathing, visualizations, objectively seeing the way my feverish mind works. Meditation has brought me face to face with fear, anger and a self-directed life. Meditation is free, and portable. I can do it in the car waiting for Maria to do her chores. I do it while feeding the animals and listening to them eat their hay. I did it yesterday walking the dogs. It is a portal through which I walk into the realm of peacefulness, growth and change. It slows me down, quiets the fear, opens up the better parts of me.

Sometimes it brings up fear, anger and resentment, and it is always healthy to see and recognize that. The world is going one way, and I (Maria too) are going another. Journeys are always easier when they are shared, and I am no Buddha sitting still for days. Meditation is how I get started, and also how I end the day. My appreciation for this ancient form of health is growing, and I am late to it, as I am late to self-awareness and growth.

Mary Oliver says: “Be Ignited. Or Be Gone.” That was my morning meditation.