Another gorgeous morning. I love the Fall here. Crisp and bright.
Kathryn and Marcia brought the pups home last evening! Things are beginning to get back to normal.
Sort of...
Meditation this morning was 35 minutes of sitting. It was a drifting thing. My mind wasn't chattering so much as just wandering. My body wanted to sleep some more. I found my first slouch happens in my neck and shoulders. Caught it many times.
Today's reading from 365 Tao, which I read after I sat, was perfect for today - encouraging.
For your edification:
"If I break down the walls, I will be surrounded by the garden.
If I break the levee, water will inundate me.
Meditation is not to be separated from life.""The task of following Tao is to cease all distinctions between the self and the outside world. It is only a matter of convenience that we label things inside and outside, subjective and objective. Indeed, it is only at elementary stages that we should talk of a Tao to follow. For true enlightenment is the realization not that there is a Tao to follow, but that we ourselves are Tao.
"That understanding comes after a simple breaking down of a wall, a shattering of the mistaken notion that there is something inherent in this life that divides us from Tao. Once the wall is broken, we are inundated by Tao. We are Tao.
"Do we continue to meditate once we come to this understanding? We still do, but it is no longer a solitary and isolated activity. It is a part of life, as natural as breathing. When you can bring yourself to the understanding that there is no difference between you and Tao and that there is no difference between meditation and "ordinary" activities, then you are well on your way to being one with Tao."
This is not to say that.. coming back to this idea later, hopefully. Family morning has interveded. Happily.
Learning a new routine in the house has been a bit of a challenge for me. The only big logistical problem in Joel's getting around with her walker is the fact that our interior doorways are narrower than those in 'real' houses. In most, she can turn sideways, practice her side-step and get thru with little problem. The doorway to the small (but most used) bathroom is another matter. Her best walker won't fit thru, period. So the narrower borrowed walker lives in that bathroom. We should filn that process: a walker, a cane, then a second walker. But it works.
And Joel even thought of a way go protect her leg when the dogs are ready to crawl all over here. We have a plastic step-stool that is the perfect size to straddle that knee. Works perfectly. In bed at night we use a couple of firm pillows held in place with the blankets. That works, too. Hooray.
Joel and the pups are in bed now, while she eats breakfast and the morning meds work. Bearly is on top of her legs, and Maxie is beside her. When her pills kick in in about 20 more minutes, she'll do her laps around the house, then head to the den where she does her exercises.
And now I'm settled much more, too. Between Joel and me and the home health nurse, Jennifer, we have the right furniture in the right places with the right accessories close by. She's beginning to feel confident enough to get up and move by herself, though I'm still standing by. Jennifer says that the 'standing by' phase could be two more weeks or so... possibly less depending on how much work she does. And man, it is work. It's hard for her to see beyond the immediate pain stuff, but she's going to be very pleasantly surprised one day when she realizes how much stronger she has become just because of what this surgery is requiring of her. Tres cool, as far as I'm concerned.
But, this post is not really about all that. It's about my Practice and my practice of it.
I got interrupted in this When Joel woke; it was coming shortly anyway because her dosing schedule calls for pills at 9:45. I had taken the both dogs to the den with me when I woke about 7:00. They, thankfully were willing to go back to sleep on the couch under a blanket with only a little bit of cuddling. I got some of my quiet time. :)
exercise time... will finish later...or not. :)
