I spent the second week of the Real Happiness 28-day mediation challenge on the road, driving through 10 snowy states en route to Wisconsin. Before I left, during week one, we had been sitting together in the office everyday, and I had gotten used our quiet and warm meditation routine. I knew sticking with the 28-day meditation challenge on the road would be a lot trickier. None the less, I was determined to sit everyday.
It was almost dusk on Superbowl Sunday and I still hadn’t made time to meditate. I was warm and drowsy, comfortable on the couch at a friend’s house in rural New Hampshire. Did I really have to sit? I was tempted to give myself the day off but I thought about my commitment to the challenge and slowly forced myself off the couch. I suited up in snowshoes, snowpants, a headlamp, and a down jacket and I headed out into the cold. Making my way on a snowy trail each step took me farther away from the madness of the Superbowl until all I could hear was the wind and the calls of an owl. Eventually I found an open field and plopped down. My friends found me there a few minutes later and joined me in meditation.
When my cellphone timer went off the sun had set, my mind was clear, and my energy restored.
You can share your own 28-day challege stories, or ask Sharon Salzberg a question, over at the Tricycle Book Club.