I went to Virginia this May to visit my parents. They bought house on a half acre of land and there’s quite a few trees and incredibly huge lawn. This year my mother is going to be 79 and my father is going to be 81 years old (2022).
One day I’m sitting in their house and my dad‘s nowhere to be found. He was actually in the backyard up under one of the dozens of pine trees raking leaves. He had already been out there for well over an hour when I quietly walked up to him. He told me, “I love coming up here and raking the leaves. It’s so quiet and peaceful. Listen to how quiet it is.” I said to him, “This is your meditation.”
Meditation doesn’t always have to be done in a quiet sacred place sitting cross legged and chanting mantras. Meditation can be raking leaves, quietly sitting and watching birds and squirrels, or painting. Meditation can be whatever you do that quiets and focuses your mind. For example, a good friend of mine paints the most realistic pictures. She can paint for hours on end and when she paints she is disconnected from reality, lost in her art and oblivious to my presence — she was in a meditative state, quiet and focused on her artwork.
What can, or do you already do, to quiet and focus your mind?
