This meditation has helped me many times,
Especially when I'm waiting or anticipating something difficult coming up.
So let's get settled in our chairs or on the floor.
Take a good deep breath.
Stretch your arms up and down to let your shoulders relax and settle.
You may close your eyes or leave them open and just unfocused.
Relax into a comfortable sitting position.
You want to be aware your spine erect,
Sitting proudly,
Yet relaxed.
Now let's just breathe in and out at your own pace.
And just notice that your body is doing the breathing.
You don't need to control it or judge it.
Just let your body breathe you.
Now let's sit with a sense of dignity.
At the top of your head,
Reaching for the sky,
Your shoulders dropped.
Hands on your thighs or maybe in your lap.
Think about the shape of a triangle.
The top of your head is the peak of a large mountain.
A gentle slope down your shoulders,
Your arms,
To your hips,
To the bottom of the pyramid.
Maybe it's your seat on the chair or on the floor.
As you sit here,
Picture in your mind a massive mountain.
Maybe it's a mountain you've seen or one you've seen in photos.
Visualize how that mountain sits there,
Massive and imposing.
Let your eyes wander over its overall shape.
The towering peaks reaching the sky.
Those peaks might have a dusting of snow at the top.
Gliding down the sides of the mountain,
You realize that its massive base is rooted in the earth.
Unmoving and solid,
Beautiful and impressive.
Now looking a little more closely at this mountain,
You see maybe a few trees at the lower elevations.
Maybe rocking cliffs or rock falls down the sides.
As you sit here,
You might visualize the sun rising and setting on our mountain.
The sun warms one side and the other side is still in the shadow,
In the cold.
As the sun moves across the universe,
It casts shadows on our mountain.
And so do clouds as they pass by.
The seasons come and go and the clouds rush in,
Storms blow through and sweep its sides with wind,
Rain or even snow.
And yet the mountain sits unmoved and still beautiful in all of this.
The seasons,
The weather,
The animals that climb on it,
The humans who claim its summit as their own with their little flags.
Or come to see the mountain and cry because its summit is shrouded in clouds today.
They may say,
It's not a good day to see the mountain.
We can't see the peak.
And through all this,
The mountain remains the mountain.
None of this matters to it.
The mountain doesn't let the emotions of a storm disturb it.
In our lives,
We constantly see storms of varying intensities and violence in the outer world around us,
As well as in our own minds and bodies.
We're buffeted by politics,
News,
Personal traumas and setbacks.
We suffer darkness and pain,
Storms of ice,
Wind and rain,
As well as joy and stunning sunlight.
As we sit here in meditation,
We have an opportunity to take on the strength of the mountain.
We can use its energy,
Its stillness,
To show us how to encounter each moment with equanimity,
With clarity,
And to be okay with where we are right now in this moment.
It may help to see that our thoughts and feelings,
All the emotional and physical storms,
Are just like the ones on the mountain.
We don't have to take these things deeply to heart,
Whether it's personal or professional.
We can learn from the mountain that these things will pass in time.
In time,
They may not even be remembered.
That's not to say that we ignore these storms that blow through our lives.
We just see it for what it is.
With some awareness and acceptance,
We can honor it as a lesson or a joy.
When we do this,
We feel vulnerable and yet able to manage it because we can see it now for what it really is.
If we are like the mountain,
We allow ourselves to know that we're stronger than we ever imagined.
That if we allow this current storm to pass through,
The sun will shine again.
There will be another storm,
And we will weather that too,
Because the mountain is us,
And we are the mountain.
Let's just sit with that for a moment.
Visualize the mountain and reflect it in your own self.
This practice is good to come back to from time to time,
To sit in stillness like the mountain,
To find equanimity for what is right now.
Thank you.
