Tag Archives: August Break

#augustbreak2013 Day Twelve

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Far Away

I am a member of the Open Heart Project, created by the kind and wise Susan Piver “to make it really, really easy to learn to meditate, find support for an ongoing practice, and connect with a community of like-minded practitioners who seek to live with wisdom, compassion, and courage.” Susan offers both a Basic and Member option for the program, and every Monday morning, Susan sends those of us who are Members a video that discusses our theme for the week (the above picture is of this morning’s talk). We also have access (as do those involved at the Basic level) to an archive of wisdom and meditation instruction videos of varying lengths.

Every day I practice with a teacher and a sangha that is far away. Each morning, I sit at my writing desk, go to Susan’s website or open one of her emails, lean my phone against my little shrine, and hit “play.” The distance between us is only physical, geographic, because Susan and the Open Heart Project are actually quite close to me, a constant presence, a very real community. Every morning we practice together, each moment we offer each other support in our practice (on and off the cushion), and we are connected even though “they” are far away.

#augustbreak2013 Day Eleven

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Play

viewfromtheballI can’t think about play without thinking of Dexter. He was the most cheerful, happy dog, always looking for an opportunity to have some fun. He is the only dog we’ve had that if we were going on a trip, we needed to make sure and pack toys, and he had favorites: his Little D, various other babies such as his kitty or his baby ram or Monkey, and any tennis ball, even better if he’d found it on a walk.

Dexter on the beach last summer, with a tennis ball he'd found

Dexter on the beach last summer, with a tennis ball he’d found

No matter how much he loved playing with other toys, Little D was always his favorite. It was a bit sad because Little D was the present we gave him for Christmas the month after Obi died, a sort of “sorry your brother is gone” gift. He loved Little D almost as much as he loved his Obi, which is really saying something. One of Dexter’s favorite games with Little D was to throw him into a pile of leaves or snow, bury him deep in the pile, dig him out, shake him around, and then start the whole thing all over again. I’m not sure how much Little D liked it, but Big D loved it.

Without Dexter, play looks a bit different. This morning, it was taking my two boys and my camera up to Lory State Park, going on a three hour hike, being surprised by not one but two mama deers with twin babies, noticing how green everything is and how many wildflowers there are, stopping to smell the vanilla sent of the pines, taking lots of pictures, remembering and missing our Dexter even as we imagined what our next dog might be like, hoping he (she?) has the same playful attitude, cheerful disposition as he did.