I was pretty busy doing not a whole lot today. It was completely enjoyable and I even managed to mindful some of the time! I started, as usual, with coffee and meditation. Then I was out the door in the predawn hour for a twenty-minute walk to a meeting I attend on weekends. I try to practice walking meditation on this walk. There aren’t a lot of fellow pedestrians or traffic at this hour, so there’s not much distraction.
After our meeting, I headed out for breakfast with a group of friends. I don’t generally eat breakfast during the week as I practice intermittent fasting, but I go ahead and enjoy the meal with friends on weekends. Next up was a long chat with a good friend. I’m helping him through some things, though honestly I probably get more out of the relationship.
And then, yes, more baseball.
I spent about three and a half hours sitting in the sun watching baseball. I recently realized I’ve been attending games at our local university in five decades now. Today I made sure I spent some time without a radio so I could simply be mindful of the game, the sun, the fans, and my reactions. I’m not going to say I managed three-plus hours of mindfulness, but I did my best…and I didn’t once think I should be off doing something productive.
Tomorrow I’m doing even. It’s a holiday from work, so I’ll be turning off my phone and my computer, and spending the day on a self retreat. Yes, I’ll continue with the challenge and listen to downloaded dhamma talks during the day, but no phone, social media, or other electronica from about 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. I do have a planned 2 pm phone call with a meditation mentor, but I think working with a teacher is completely acceptable on a retreat. I’ll let you all know how it goes.
Aloha!
