Some people have asked, "What kind of maniac meditates outside in the middle of winter, at the crack of dawn?"
Everything feels and sounds different when everyone else is asleep, and the world is just about to wake up.
The arctic chill hits you the minute you open the door. As you quietly step out onto the wooden deck, the planks make sharp cracking noises under the weight of your feet, the same way ice would sound if you stepped in just the right spot. I sometimes feel like i am stealing away, even though i am in my own yard. I sometimes imagine a run, Forest, run moment for myself...hahaha
One of my favorite parts is settling in to allow all of my other senses to take over....from feeling the cold sting on my face after just getting out of a piping hot shower, to breathing in the light, crisp air that is intermingled with the scent of wood that is from someones fireplace nearby. I think that smell will always remind me of home.
The sound is silent and dense, so very different from the other seasons that have crickets singing their song all night and birds ready to greet the day, long before the sun makes her appearance.
It is in this time that i am alone. I can hear my thoughts and i can choose which ones to sit with and which ones to let go.
On this morning, a couple of days ago, when i got outside, the sky was crystal clear, with the moon right above showing only half of her face, the stars sparkled brightly and danced all around, i was drawn in to watch the show...i patiently watched for a while, captured some great shots and started my meditation.
By the time i finished, (ten minutes later) the moon was buried deep in clouds and clouds were engulfing half the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it was like the moon hadn't even been there.
It was then that i thought to myself...in this moment.
Its in these moments, the moments where i choose to practice becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, with grounding myself in the present moment, even if it is for just ten minutes, that i am rewarded in more ways than one. That brief moment that i spent looking into the moon and gazing at the stars, that was the only opportunity that i would have to see them on that day. Had i not been awake and present, i would've missed the show.
How often in life are we not awake and present and what are we missing because of it?
Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?
*It is important to note...this experiment didn't start out with these deep thoughts in mind. It truly is my desperate attempt to break the habit of hitting the snooze...hahahaha, I'm just finding that these are just some of the gifts that you find when you step outside of your comfort zone and push the edge of whats comfortable.
Hugging you♥