Meditating in High Park
This afternoon, like yesterday afternoon, was so beautiful and sunny and warm it was impossible to stay indoors. I went for a long walk, and one of the places I stopped off at was High Park, one of my favourite urban oases.
I've been reading a Deepak Chopra book lately, called "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success". I love Deepak. From when I first saw him on Oprah many years ago, and then on PBS doing a talk based on his latest book, I have always thought he is an incredibly wise man. When he says things, they sound so simple. So basic.
One of the things he is always encouraging is the practice of meditation. He says it is extremely important to take time each day to completely clear your mind and just sit in silence. This afternoon when I was in High Park, I passed by an incredibly beautiful spot, right at the top of an embankment, completely surrounded by trees, a walking trail about a 100 feet below, and absolutely no one in sight. There were three benches there, all empty. I went to the middle one and sat down, put down my purse beside me, and just looked.
All the trees were leafless, but I noticed they were all gently swaying. When you look at trees, they seem to be just standing there, but as I sat and watched them, I noticed they were constantly moving. They were rocking back and forth in the breeze like a baby's cradle. The really humongous old trees just stood there, but their more spindly branches were moving. A squirrel ran across the leaves, twitching his bushy tail. I heard a plane overhead. I noticed people emerging and disappearing on the trail below, either walking their dogs or just going for a run by themselves. Somewhere in the distance I could hear children playing and cars went by behind me.
I sat there feeling enormously peaceful, but my thoughts kept trying to butt in. Deepak says that when this happens, just push them away, tune them out. So that's what I did. When my mind started chiming in with things like, "Nice, sitting here on this park bench when you're out of a job." I recognized that immediately as my mother's or some Anonymous Authoritarian voice, and told it to get lost. Then I started thinking, "It sure would be nice to be here sharing this with someone. More specifically, a guy. Even more specifically, a really sexy hunky guy who would take me home afterwards and give me the bang of my life." I knew who was talking there. You know her. I told her to calm down too.
We take solitude and beauty (nature's, that is) so much for granted. We only notice it or appreciate it when we have nothing better to do. It's like when we were kids and our teachers took us on field trips to some recreation area. It turned out this was a pretty cool place, we discovered, with all kinds of insects and plants and ponds and wildlife. But the next day, when we were back at school, we forgot about all that and got all preoccupied with t.v. and our friends and a million other things.
How many times have you or I passed by a beautiful park and never even gave it a second glance because we were too busy thinking about what we were going to make for dinner, or what that asshole boss said to us that morning, or the fight we had with our husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend et al? It made me kind of sad sitting there, thinking about that. I felt kind of like I had this wonderful friend who I kept neglecting or not spending time with because I had so many other things to do. Yet it was always there for me, even if I came back to spend some time with it five years later, and it didn't hold any grudges ... it still gave me so much as I sat there. It calmed my soul.
I don't know if I'd be able to meditate every day. In Deepak's book I mentioned above, he suggests you do it for at least 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. Whenever I hear things like that, I automatically resist them because I hate being told I have to follow a regimen. But I can definitely see the value in taking time to be with yourself in a beautiful place every day ... whether it's in a park, your garden, your living room, whatever.
Silence is good for the soul.
I've been reading a Deepak Chopra book lately, called "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success". I love Deepak. From when I first saw him on Oprah many years ago, and then on PBS doing a talk based on his latest book, I have always thought he is an incredibly wise man. When he says things, they sound so simple. So basic.
One of the things he is always encouraging is the practice of meditation. He says it is extremely important to take time each day to completely clear your mind and just sit in silence. This afternoon when I was in High Park, I passed by an incredibly beautiful spot, right at the top of an embankment, completely surrounded by trees, a walking trail about a 100 feet below, and absolutely no one in sight. There were three benches there, all empty. I went to the middle one and sat down, put down my purse beside me, and just looked.
All the trees were leafless, but I noticed they were all gently swaying. When you look at trees, they seem to be just standing there, but as I sat and watched them, I noticed they were constantly moving. They were rocking back and forth in the breeze like a baby's cradle. The really humongous old trees just stood there, but their more spindly branches were moving. A squirrel ran across the leaves, twitching his bushy tail. I heard a plane overhead. I noticed people emerging and disappearing on the trail below, either walking their dogs or just going for a run by themselves. Somewhere in the distance I could hear children playing and cars went by behind me.
I sat there feeling enormously peaceful, but my thoughts kept trying to butt in. Deepak says that when this happens, just push them away, tune them out. So that's what I did. When my mind started chiming in with things like, "Nice, sitting here on this park bench when you're out of a job." I recognized that immediately as my mother's or some Anonymous Authoritarian voice, and told it to get lost. Then I started thinking, "It sure would be nice to be here sharing this with someone. More specifically, a guy. Even more specifically, a really sexy hunky guy who would take me home afterwards and give me the bang of my life." I knew who was talking there. You know her. I told her to calm down too.
We take solitude and beauty (nature's, that is) so much for granted. We only notice it or appreciate it when we have nothing better to do. It's like when we were kids and our teachers took us on field trips to some recreation area. It turned out this was a pretty cool place, we discovered, with all kinds of insects and plants and ponds and wildlife. But the next day, when we were back at school, we forgot about all that and got all preoccupied with t.v. and our friends and a million other things.
How many times have you or I passed by a beautiful park and never even gave it a second glance because we were too busy thinking about what we were going to make for dinner, or what that asshole boss said to us that morning, or the fight we had with our husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend et al? It made me kind of sad sitting there, thinking about that. I felt kind of like I had this wonderful friend who I kept neglecting or not spending time with because I had so many other things to do. Yet it was always there for me, even if I came back to spend some time with it five years later, and it didn't hold any grudges ... it still gave me so much as I sat there. It calmed my soul.
I don't know if I'd be able to meditate every day. In Deepak's book I mentioned above, he suggests you do it for at least 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. Whenever I hear things like that, I automatically resist them because I hate being told I have to follow a regimen. But I can definitely see the value in taking time to be with yourself in a beautiful place every day ... whether it's in a park, your garden, your living room, whatever.
Silence is good for the soul.
posted by emily pound at 1:06 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Jennie,
Glad you enjoyed this post. I have spent a lot of time in my life going for long walks on my own, and they have always been good for my soul (whether I have a Walkman on or not). But the ones where I just sit in a park and appreciate the beauty are definitely my favourites. I should do it way more often.
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