Medtation on the Monarch

The further removed I get from the Shambhala retreat, and the more the demands of work and home & gardens pull on me, the more loose and distracted my meditations are getting. Time to re-commit, though, because letting meditation go is like painting the house while the foundation crumbles...I know that inner work makes outer work more creative & productive; my understanding of Self makes my relationships with others more fruitful; and my generosity with myself – giving myself the time and space to meditate – makes me more giving and compassionate out there in the Big World.

It occurred to me recently that in my meditations, I’m like the white moths pestering my flowers right now – I’m jumpy and patternless, skipping hither & yon from thought to breath, thought to breath, on my flitty little white wings, with no sense of direction. I want to be more like the monarchs feasting on the milkweed in our pasture – calmly settled on a flower bud, big golden wings slowly expanding and folding in (like a breath), with a clear sense of focus and purpose.

So that’s my image for you (and for me) today – in your practice at least, be the monarch.