Delighting in What Goes Wrong

When we say we are going for a meditation walk, we expect it to be peaceful and warm in a beautiful natural environment, right? However, being in the moment, connecting with our surroundings, and walking in the flow also means ACCEPTING EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUR WAY, WITHOUT JUDGING IT TO BE GOOD OR BAD. This is key to meditation, whether the tradition is Yogic, Taoist, Buddhist, or simple mindfulness.

For this particular meditation walk it was 8:15pm, 30 degrees, and all 18 of us from our three hour long ethics class were freezing. There was very little nature as we circumvented Herman Hall and snow covered much of the landscape (in addition to making things slippery). At the end of our walk we found we were locked out of the building and laughed as we hurriedly found another entrance into the warm classroom. Without being in the moment, we wouldn't have had this fun and freezing meditation walk. Once back in the warm classroom, we had a sitting meditation where we brought to mind the walk and allowed ourselves to dwell on a single image. We then composed a group poem. As the professor, I had the first line. Afterwards, I marveled at how I was the only one who mentioned the loud bird chirping as we began our walk. Without embracing ourselves, the moment, our conceptions, and our misconceptions, we wouldn't have broken out into laughter after the class told me that the "lone bird" I heard was actually the sound of a cross walk. 

It is in the unexpected that we often find the most delight, if we are willing to let our guards down and live in the moment. 

Group Poem

Lone bird sings, half moonlight beams.

Bare tree in the middle of the snow,

Swiftness of wind through the branches.

The crunch of snow as I step in it.

The calming breeze hit my face.

The feel of warm fingertips in my jacket pocket

Brushing against the material.

Piercing chill throughout my body,

A cold wind cuts across my face like a knife through butter.

A small, tight band of brothers, together warmed by presence.

The flags waved roughly in the cold night.

There was black ice, it was slippery.

Ice like glass reflecting the evening lights.

My cold ears and my nose, reflecting an iceberg

Remind me of the people in the Titanic.

But tonight we are not those people,

They are the homeless who don't have a shelter.

The lonely Charlie Brown tree, curious as to why life is the way it is.

One brilliant star amidst a cold black sky,

Fighting to stand out against the modern day lights below.

The nature was here, but now it is gone.

Any light shining through the earth's darkness softly reflects the frigid ice.