Jog n' Blog, Day 3...

I got back out there today after missing a few days. I knew it would be a great challenge to get this discipline going. I have kept up exercise by digging up many wheelbarrows of dirt while putting in a flagstone patio for my neighbor. But the jogging did take a backseat. Rather than beat myself up and make a big drama about it in my mind, I got up this morning, turned up the volume on my Annie Lennox album (she is always a revelation!) and did 2 miles, about half of which was jogging. Today was a relief because when I came to the end of my time I realized I wasn't really thinking about anything. Talk about a revelation :-) It occurs to me that beneath the discipline of our bodies lies the more important discipline of our minds. In this culture we're taught to always be productive. The shadow side of that is that we forget how to turn off our minds.

I'm working through a great book by Matthew Flickstein entitled "Journey to the Center: A Meditation Workbook". He's a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and founder of The Forest Way Insight Meditation Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. In his first chapter entitled "Insights: Happiness versus Inner Peace" he notes that "Happiness refers to a state of mind...that is always dependent upon circumstances. When our circumstances match our aspirations we feel happy, and when they do not, we feel unhappy. Contentment, unlike happiness, is not dependent upon our circumstances. It is an inner perspective from which we are aware of the difficulties or problems of our lives without being emotionally controlled by them. Contentment is an experience of inner peace."

I believe this is the journey we are all on, by one road or another. Each of us comes to this journey with our own backpack of inner resources and faith traditions (please forgive any Dora the Explorer intrusion I just created for you parents out there). But regardless of which faith tradition or spiritual resources we bring to our journey, meditation is the most valuable piece. Vietnamese zen buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us to "close the windows" so to speak...to create time each day where we don't let the frenetic pace and baffling noise of the world bombard us. Even 15 minutes each day of quiet can change our whole disposition, outlook, and emotional program for the day.

So as I walked and jogged this morning, listening to the incomparable Annie Lennox, I just put one foot in front of the other, put aside all of the emotional circumstances of my life, and let myself be carried forward. Sometimes that's all we need to do: put one foot in front of the other; walk; run; listen; gently escort our thoughts and worries out of the way; and do the best we can for that moment. Flickstein warns that there is one obstacle "which could prevent us from reaching our goal...the tendency to become lost in the drama of our minds." Meditation helps to diffuse this drama and open our eyes to the simple beauty of the present moment that lies right in front of us. Here's to the present! Enjoy this day!