Last night I had a dream…
I was in a big hotel, the hotel had a swimming pool with a big buffet. It must have been my last day staying at the hotel, because I was nervous they would look closely at my buffet-pass and see that it had just recently expired… They noticed.
I was trying to find a group of my friends, or family at the swimming pool, but it appeared I was lost. I went to the elevator, down to the parking lot, where there was a kid who kept kicking a ball at me trying to get me to prove something to him by kicking it back to him in some awesome way… I wouldn’t. Soccer was never my sport. I eventually ran away, back into the elevator, where I was having an awkward confrontation with a new person. I was relieved when the door opened and I emerged from the elevator to a new pool, much different than the previous one. This one seemed to be some type of hidden gem. Much quieter, and peaceful.
As I approached the pool I noticed something peculiar about it, everyone was moving in a counter-clockwise, single file chain around the pool. And even more intriguing, they were all holding a Tibetan Mala in their hand.
Each person was in resemblance of a Monk, moving around the pool in prayer, chanting as they went along. There was one Monk watching over everyone who noticed me as I approached the pool. This monk seemed to be leading the rest in their ritual. I had a strong desire to join them, and just as I went to enter the water, I remembered that I had my Tibetan Mala tucked inside my shirt. I removed it, held it in my hand and proceeded into the water. I looked up just in time to make eye contact with the lead Monk, as she smiled gently and bowed her head ever so slightly in acceptance, I began moving with the others.
I was only in the water a few seconds when it started to burn my eyeballs! I looked around and noticed there was a critical piece of equipment missing. Goggles. I knew that my partner Hannah had a pair and so I started calling out to her. My call began to crumble under the weight of my tired lips. I called some more, each call peeling me from the reality of that water, those monks, the prayer, the ritual, the peace that it brought me, until I transitioned into a new reality.
I was reborn slowly into this morning, to the sound of my own voice, grumbling for my girlfriends swimming goggles, “Hmmgghfffff…….. hmmgghhfffff………..”
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So that is how I woke up to such a momentous day. Intrigued by the imagery of the monks and the peace associated with them, and amused by the comical nature of my awakening.
11,111 days, what a milestone!
I awakened to the morning sky shining timidly through our bedroom window, Light bouncing off many boxes, furniture, plants and floorboards. Remnants of a weekend of hard work, moving, and transitioning into our new home in Kitsilano (Vancouver). It was a peaceful morning. One of many more to come, as I sat down on the soft flokati rug to do my morning meditation.
I am a creature of habit, as I believe us all to be. I can be quite disciplined in my rituals, although they often don’t stick for an extended period of time. What I’ve learned in the last few years of actually getting to know myself is that once my discipline begins to falter, I must tend to it heavily in order to prevent it from becoming completely derailed. It takes a long time to develop long lasting habits. I try to keep it to one thing at a time, most of the time. Last year it was intermittent fasting for a few months, and this year it is a morning meditation.
I’m starting simple, 10-20 mins. There is really no better way to start the day then by integrating conscious breathing into your waking reality. I imagine myself unifying with all of the world and life around me with each inhale. On each exhale I explore my own individuality, uniqueness, and how it contrasts the external world around me, and then the cycle repeats.
There is abundant beauty in the world around us, we just need to wake up to it, literally, and figuratively.
I am truly blessed for the opportunity to live up to the 11,111’th day of my life, and to be able to share my nuggets of experience with whoever cares enough to read them.
Thanks for bringing your light in to the world, and thanks for contributing to mine.
<3
