Dear friend,

At first, I thought of meditation as something I did by myself, sitting quietly with my eyes closed. In truth, meditation is training for life. It teaches us to be fully present for the simplest of moments, and to meet the hard stuff with more grace.

As our global and national crises unfold, we need more than food, shelter, medicine and rest. To care for each other and this beautiful, broken world, we also need to nourish the heart.

This is where contemplative practice can be a creative resource, expanding the scope of meditation.

The first step is to notice what's good. 

We overlook so much: taking a walk with a friend, feeling the breeze, a home cooked meal. Contemplative training helps us choose more deliberately where we place our attention. If we feel depleted, we can consciously attend to aspects of our experience that are uplifting, healing, or comforting. This is not about blocking out that which is painful, but about finding balance and regenerating so we can go on.

The second step is allowing the heart to be nourished.

Bring your wholehearted presence into the moment, and fully receive the subtle pleasure of a simple moment. Let yourself linger there and drink it in.

What's already here, available right now, that might feed your heart if you took the time to notice and let it in? 

Sometimes, we may look around and struggle to find anything at all. The distances between brightness can feel vast, the landscape bleak. This is where we can get even more creative, drawing on the inexhaustible well of memory and imagination.

For example, I enjoy hiking. In the high Sierra, there's a place where the snowmelt tumbles over a ledge and pure, cold, mountain water cascades down the cliffs. The air is fresh and clean, and the Jeffrey Pines tower overhead.

Recalling this image reconnects me with the goodness and possibility inherent in life. In my mind, I can smell the brilliant air and feel the mist on my skin. As I remember the scene, the moments I've spent there, my heart begins to fill.

So what nourishes you? Right here and now, or in your own mind?

If you want to have some fun with this, go to the first link below and enter two words of things that nourish you. Then visit the second link to see the results!

• What nourishes your heart? (Click the link and enter two words)
• Check out the results here

In kindness,

Oren

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