Getting Real About Meditation

Let’s inhale. Let’s exhale. How about we do that again. Inhale. Exhale. Welcome to a Hit of Hope, and this one is definitely salty. Do folks ever say to you, “You have it all together” or “Your life is going so well”?

Please note: This track may include some explicit language.

Transcript

Let's inhale.

Let's exhale.

How about we do that again?

Inhale.

Exhale.

Welcome to a hit of hope.

And this one is definitely salty.

Do folks ever say to you,

You have it all together or your life is going so well?

And do you ever want to call bullshit?

Do you ever want to say,

You have no idea what is going on?

What I'm going through?

Inhale.

Exhale.

If that happens to you,

Does that mean that we are all big fat fakers putting one image out to the world while secretly living another reality?

Kinda,

Sorta.

And yet,

Isn't that what living in society is?

Living into the faces that we are expected to present?

And some of us are really,

Really good at putting forward faces that are pleasing to society.

That annoys me just saying that because it can get exhausting putting forward a face that is pleasing.

And I don't know about you,

But there are times when that act of putting on a pleasing face makes me pissy.

Yes,

Pissy.

Inhale.

Exhale.

And as I've said before,

There are times when life is so fucking annoying.

And sometimes that's because nothing is going right.

Sometimes that's because there are too many demands and not enough time or energy to meet them.

And sometimes there is no reason at all.

And yet life feels so fucking annoying.

And I don't know about you,

But I really thought that meditation would make life feel less annoying.

That meditation would cure me like that woman in the Bible who touched the robe of Jesus and wham,

She was suddenly healed.

Meditation,

Like religion,

Does not make everything magically better.

Neither meditation nor religion stop life from being hard or challenging.

But,

And this is the big but,

But meditation can help us to become aware of the habitual churning of our thoughts.

Which just is a really nice way of saying our pissiness or our smallness.

Because life is what it is,

As we often say to one another.

And it isn't that meditation can stop that life,

But it can stop the annoying shit from infiltrating our spirits.

It can stop the annoying shit from controlling our minds and crushing us.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Now,

Inhale like you mean it.

And exhale,

Let the shit go.

Inhale into that gorgeous,

Real,

Messy human face of yours.

Exhale out the pissiness,

The struggle,

The pain.

It doesn't matter what people think about you.

Doesn't matter what people think about your life,

Your business.

And it doesn't matter if you give the world good face.

What matters is how you show up for yourself.

How you walk yourself through your life intentionally,

No matter what is going on.

As the saying goes,

If you are going through hell,

Walk like you own the place.

Inhale,

You've got this.

Exhale,

Let go of the shit.

Inhale,

You feckin' fierce warrior.

Exhale.

And namaste,

You amazing,

Messy,

Gorgeous,

Beautiful,

Real person,

You.

Namaste.

Reviews

That was awesome! You just get better and better! Couldn't stop laughing while letting my shit go.🙏🦔

The past several weeks have been some of the most hellish of my life -- and one of the worst possible times to stop meditating. But now you've given me an image that will help: I go thru hell in a jacuzzi filled with cool water and carried by strapping young things and/or assorted minions. My jacuzzi can fit a few friends, so you can join me. In fact, when I wish it, the jacuzzi can be set down for a while and it will grow into a pool, so several of us can have little parties from time to time. Clothing optional, of course. I'm guessing that you're probably familiar with the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail (in my top ten all-time favorite movies). This reminds me of the scene where some peasants watch Arthur pass by the countryside. One peasant says that must be the king because "He hasn't got shit all over him." So it will be very obvious that I am Queen. And CEO. And! I think the person who is "responsible" for putting me thru hell will be one of those who has to carry me All. The. Time. I know that part is not skillful thinking, but it helps A LOT. Thank you so many times, Betsy!

OMG, I love you, Betsy!😂😂😂 That was spectacularly accurate, as well as being funny af. It's funny cause it's true!

Okay, I started laughing almost immediately when I heard this one. With the knowledge of our mutual background, I will simply utter, with extreme irritation, the phrase, "Happy Cobbers."

Oh yes.... That was my first true individual experience with this public face (my mask) you speak of, and it drove me Up. The. Wall. I don't know if this graffiti was showing up during your time there, but the chalked word "Conformia" was appearing on mailboxes and sidewalks and even on the Bell Tower for a few months before stopping as suddenly and mysteriously as it began.

I wear masks in public. I readily admit this. I got so sick and tired of not being seen for ME and instead being seen as a "disability in front and me behind" character that I decided it would be more efficient to simply hide as much of the rest as I could so my interactions could be more productive and shorter overall. Much the same reason that for a long time, I wore maxi skirts over my knee braces at work. It wasn't because I cared how they looked - medical tech necessary is simply what it is - but more that if I had a new client come in, they almost always fixated on the braces and wanted to know what happened, tell stories, sympathize, etc. Which I suppose was standard human SOP but the braces didn't bother me, and in fact were very helpful. I just wanted to not waste their time and my own, and get down to doing the intake. So I threw a skirt over top and there ya go - not visible = no comment.

Thus my "work face" and my "out in public mask" and the ever-present "I look just fine when inside I am fighting chronic pain and a host of other issues you've likely never even heard of and I'm too utterly fatigued to explain even if you were to ask me about them" mask.

You may recall me saying some time ago that I don't cuss. At least, not out loud and if it's vocalized, it's either a very mild one (relatively speaking) or in a foreign language. I also tend to be put off by being around people who do cuss. Not you though. When you speak, I feel the sincerity and vulnerability coming through. Your cussing comes from a genuine depth of heart and soul as the cry of a spirit beating its fists upon the restrictions of that condition which we laughably call "polite society." I cry foul to that as well.

Love you to bits, Betsy. In my mind you have become the "Angry Cobber" in the most perfect, respectful, admirable sense of the word. If the Happy Cobbers of the world are the Stepford Wives, you are like Bette Midler's vibrant, no holds barred, tell it like it is character in "Beaches" (or almost any other film role she's had). Or perhaps the character "Carla" from the tv show "Cheers" is more apt.

Either way, you are a breath of fresh air, cussing and all. I did consider that perhaps you might think about altering the title of your sessions to be "A Hit of Salty Hope," owing to the number of self-described "salty" tracks of late, but honestly, you're simply being real and authentic. And that right there inspires hope to me, regardless of the language used (or not used). 🥰

Passing you some Himalayan pink salt, finely ground. Full of the additional minerals necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Goes great on corn, too. 😜

Dang, now I'm wishing that, cold as it is, I could be out on the canoe up in the BWCA and escape what I'm sure will be an...interesting...Election Day here in NC. The sun is rising, there's frost on the ground, the horses across the street have steaming breath, but all I can think of with some wistfulness is a sunrise over a relatively placid lake, steam rising from the surface, with the single solitary cry of a loon echoing across the still landscape. Sigh.

Continue in your salty goodness, my friend. Dance upon that mask. I'll hold your corncob and plate for you while you do. 🌽🤪❤

And thanks, too, for this gift, even if it might not have been exactly received as you might have anticipated. Then again, it's possibly a unique common reference point, so there's that, too. 《Flashes her "Wonder Twins/Green Lantern" superhero secret decoder ring》 😂🤣😂

As always, I see you and the light within you. Be well - and safe today. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻

EDIT: I should probably note that I personally did not toss on the Happy Cobber mask. However, I did have to throw on the "pleasant professional" mask there quite frequently, which carried much the same saccharine banal energy as the HC mask, in my experience. It's quite possible you actually saw me employing that mask, though it would have only been in passing if actually recognized at all as distinguishedfrom background activity. (We did wear black shirts to blend in, after all.)

Your last year was my first, but from my first day on site, I became part of the sound crew and thus had to interact with all those who needed microphones or recordings or whatever, be they outside guests, students, professors, etc. We recorded and provided amplification for the chapel services, talent shows, lectures, did football games (and other sports, such as my massive "oops" that was televised but turned out for the best during one huge basketball game), the Peace Prize Forums (I got to supervise that one my third year), and I - being one of the only females on the crew and aside from that first year while in training, the ONLY female supervisor - got to handle the up front and in public "talent management " aspect of things.

And after four years of doing that, with local, national, and global guests crossing our various stages, I can say immediately and without reservation that my biggest challenges were ALWAYS the Homecoming Committee members when it came to the HC faces. Didn't help that one year one of those folks was also a particular former HS classmate of mine - same class - who was like that back then as well, which got on my nerves even at that point. Imagine compounding the pleasant professional mask you are wearing while working with the HC mask of the talent staring at you and informing you to cheer up or think positive or simply using that chirpy voice (you know the one) to tell you how to do your job. (Or don't, and save yourself the torment.)
*As I would slow blink, breathe deeply, count to ten inwardly, and plaster on a smile...."We'll see what we can do." Then run across the room to address some purely fictional but utterly time-critical technical issues just to remove myself from the immediate vicinity. * 😂

Good life lessons though. Very helpful as I continued on in my life journey, and helpful to this day. A number of folks from the crew are friends on FB and periodically we will issue a random "HC" alert which is used not specifically to reference Cobberland, but more the vibe or to express frustration and the "HC" is used as explanation for the cause. Inevitably those not "in the know" who see the post will ask what it means and those who do will immediately sympathize in one form or another. The first time I tried to explain, the second word caused more questioning (often with confusion, laughter, and disbelief - "corn?") than the situation that was causing the irritation, which further compounded said frustrating situation. So I stopped explaining and started to leave it at "If you get it, you understand. If you don't get it, I can't explain it to you well enough that you will."

It was through one of those interactions that I learned that my favorite philo prof passed from COVID. One of my last memories (and favorites, now) of him was when he sat next to me on the flight back from a May Sem and knowing that I had graduated before we left but was waiting on his grade to determine which honors would be added to the diploma, he kept grinning at me and would sing, "I know what your grade is, I know what your grade is," until I punched him lightly on the arm and told him politely to shut up or just tell me. LOL. He didn’t tell me outright, but his wink and grin told me anyway. He could explain complicated philo concepts like no other I have ever met. RIP Gregg. A genuine, non-HC mask-wearing gentleman if ever there was one. 💔

Holy Moly. That was fantastic. Much needed. You are the best and I love your hits of hope.

I wear my soul on my face not my heart on my sleeve. If you don't like what it looks like then look away, I give zero fucks and no apologies. I've not said this before but my second name actually does mean "warrior" in Irish Gaelic, I have a LOT of Irish blood and I think that you probably have Irish and Scottish blood in you Betsy, fuck aye 😜
Meditation has helped me so much, but you have in particular. Life is still fucking annoying and frustrating and dark but life always will be. Write that book you have waiting in you, I'd love to read it. Namaste 🖤🙏

Telling it like it is!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Smiley Face" 😊 here
You are correct......no one really knows what is going on behind the facade other than the very few we trust enough to let in. As many have recently posted keep keeping it real! I hope we are as much of a support to you as you are to us. Na ma ste
Wishing you peace on Wednesday over there......write the book 📖.........Tommos did😉

I love your "salty" recordings the best. Why? Because you are authentic and real and you cut thru all the *love and light" propaganda and say, yeah life is shitty sometimes and sometimes it's just so hard. Sending you love and please keep this going. ❤️ Nama-stay-real