Meditation: Headspace, Basics #8 Length: 11 minutes Where: On the grass, North Hollywood Park How It Felt: Absolutely glorious
For those who don’t know, Los Angeles is currently the worst COVID hotspot in the country. Since things are so bad here, and especially since I recently had to fly, I’ve been really shut up in my home. I’ve left only twice: once to drive to the library to return a book and once to get a COVID test. (My poor, lonely car.) With things so bad, it just hasn’t been worth the risk of going too many places, and since we are lucky enough to have things like grocery delivery in this modern world, I’ve stayed, almost totally, inside my condo.
All the unrest in our nation has me quite anxious, for obvious reasons, and this morning I knew I had to get outside, get some sun on my face, and walk around a bit. Getting out in nature on a beautiful day is about the most therapeutic thing I can imagine. So, I got some workout clothes on, grabbed my mask, and drove to North Hollywood Park, a larger park our neighborhood.
I can’t express how grateful I felt today to live somewhere with such undeniably beautiful weather, especially in the winter. The park wasn’t too busy with people, but squirrels (as you know– some of my favorite creatures ever!) were everywhere. I found a nice spot on the grass, under some beautiful, bright green trees, and faced the warm sunshine. There, I meditated.
Meditating in such a gorgeous, peaceful space felt a lot easier than trying to concentrate inside my home, I discovered. It felt like that moment was meant for me to take deep breaths, clear my mind, and get really present. I wanted to expand my lungs, to notice the sounds around me, to go inward, to feel the sensations of the space. It came naturally.
My mind felt so clear and focused afterward that, during my walk around the park’s paths, I actually had a pretty huge breakthrough about myself, my life, and a false story my mind tells me that I need to “unlearn.” I won’t bore you with details here, but suffice it to say, I’m sure my amazing meditation cleared a path for my brain to work some things out.
It’s seriously already helping me feel more peaceful! After just eight days.
I leave you with two lovely, peaceful images I took from my meditation spot today. If you, too, are missing nature a bit (or stressed about the news), maybe these can bring you a calming moment.
….I really want to end with Namaste for the rhythm of the ending, but it’s so cheesy in this moment I can’t bring myself to do it.
So…Happy Friday, all! Enjoy these trees. I truly did! 🙂
My Year of Meditation 