I am an avid paddler. I paddle a canoe, and a kayak –the needs of the day dictate the boat I use. Both my children were in a canoe before they could walk and they were both paddling with little homemade paddles as soon as they could reach over the gunwale (side) of the canoe. When I learned to paddle I gained confidence and awareness of the beauty around me. The awareness was quite eye opening. In a canoe or kayak you can glide along a river and glance at the things passing by with little concern or great concentration. You can stop and inspect it or just pass it by without a second glance. This understanding became very useful when I began to learn meditation. “Follow the rhythm of your breathing” I was told in the beginning of several instructions. So I did. I followed it deep into unknown territory where I feared that something I was doing was incorrect and my back began to hurt and I cracked open one eye to see if I was sitting right. I was a mess. My ego got the best of me, and my internal narrator told me I wasn’t getting it.
And then one day as I was paddling I realized that I was following a rhythm, the cadence of my paddling was steady and purposeful and mindless. My mind was free to grab onto anything that caught its interest. My interest would guide me to inspection and review and memorization. But mostly my mind was just there in the body, in the boat, in the river, moving through life, lots and lots of life. The paddling cadence changed as the river changed. Muscles moved to correct my place in the current and when required my mind would momentarily focus on the actions needed to continue on my easy trip. And as easily as it changed focus into my body it would revert back into the world around me falling away from awareness of the action of paddling to once again merge with everything and with nothing at one time.
Occasionally I will find that I am intently watching a dragonfly on my canoe or a bird wading in the grass. Far more often while I am paddling my mind is wandering in the present moment, taking in everything that I am seeing and feeling, every action and every emotion. These things float through my mind like thistle seeds on the wind. They are present in my awareness, but I hold onto little of it as it floats by.
This is meditation. I have done some walking meditation, and after much work my breath meditation works to get me relaxed and into a deeper consciousness. I’m not quite sure that anyone could paddle to enlightenment. But I am sure that here is a rhythm to life and everything has its place in the never-ending tune.
And then one day as I was paddling I realized that I was following a rhythm, the cadence of my paddling was steady and purposeful and mindless. My mind was free to grab onto anything that caught its interest. My interest would guide me to inspection and review and memorization. But mostly my mind was just there in the body, in the boat, in the river, moving through life, lots and lots of life. The paddling cadence changed as the river changed. Muscles moved to correct my place in the current and when required my mind would momentarily focus on the actions needed to continue on my easy trip. And as easily as it changed focus into my body it would revert back into the world around me falling away from awareness of the action of paddling to once again merge with everything and with nothing at one time.
Occasionally I will find that I am intently watching a dragonfly on my canoe or a bird wading in the grass. Far more often while I am paddling my mind is wandering in the present moment, taking in everything that I am seeing and feeling, every action and every emotion. These things float through my mind like thistle seeds on the wind. They are present in my awareness, but I hold onto little of it as it floats by.
This is meditation. I have done some walking meditation, and after much work my breath meditation works to get me relaxed and into a deeper consciousness. I’m not quite sure that anyone could paddle to enlightenment. But I am sure that here is a rhythm to life and everything has its place in the never-ending tune.
Come on, find your rhythm so you can play along.
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