One Year On(Meditation for Sunday 14th March)

 

One Year On

Exactly one year ago a few of us sat around a small speaker and listened to a guided meditation by the teacher Jack Kornfield. It was the last time that we would meet together in-person before everyone realized the importance of staying distant. The meditation was on how we work with fear and uncertainty, and couldn't have been more appropriate.

The week after that we were all in lockdown, and I resurrected this 'Metta Letter.' At the time we were expecting this to last for a few months at the most and so I dived into the library of old recordings so that we could continue to sit together virtually, even if we couldn't sit together in the same room.

But then the letter started to get a bit of a wider audience - what started as a note to just our local group gained some readers from further afield. And I have been very blessed an honored by those of you who have sent kind words, and those of you who have listened along to the guided meditations.

Over the past year we have contemplated sandcastles, acrobats, ghosts, lutes, poems and a menagerie of animals including tigers, elephants and water-snakes.

And so, one year on I want to express my gratitude to all of you who read these. I know that we are all bombarded by content in our inboxes nowadays, so I am very thankful to those of you who have taken the time to read these as they come out.

Things are still uncertain but there is cautious optimism that we will be able to resume the local sit in the not-too-distant future. However, if people continue to value these messages I will carry on with them even after we have resumed our in-person meetings.

So I would like to ask a small favor from you. As we hit the one-year anniversary I'm taking stock and contemplating how to move forward with these. I want to make sure that I am providing the most value I can to you all in your paths. So, I would love it if you could drop me a short note - specifically letting me know what you value about these, what doesn't work so well for you and what you would like to see in future messages. If any of the past messages have particularly resonated with you - or annoyed you - it would be great to know which was which.

I know several of you have already given some kind and helpful thoughts, so huge thanks to you.

I think it is appropriate that even given the strange and challenging experience of the last year we keep our focus on gratitude, so I have linked below a short guided meditation on gratitude. As usual, a few of us have committed to press 'play' at 7pm PT on Sunday 14th March. You are welcome to join us then if you wish, or to use this in your practice in any way that helps.

Next week I will resume with a new letter, but until then thank you all for your continued engagement.

Metta, Chris.

 

cjrobson · Gratitude Meditation 2 Aug 2015

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash