To be in the midst of noise, trouble, and hard work and still be calm in your heart--that is why we practice. We show up on our cushion every day (ideally) and struggle. We manage to ignore the wisp of hair blowing across our face, we breath into stiffness in our hips or back to dissipate the tension, only to hear the final bell chime and realize our mind has wandered down a rabbit hole and we didn't even realize it! Our first inclination is to chide ourselves "Gah! That was a terrible session! I suck!" Sigh. We create so much suffering with our need to judge everything as good or bad. This is a practice. It is striving to find balance between holding too tightly and too loosely; between effort and grace. Every time you sit with intention, you are not only opening your heart, but actually prompting physical changes in your brain. It is important to practice with gentleness, otherwise, meditation turns into one more thing on our long list of "to do's", one more area of our life where we have to be perfect. If you are feeling ambitious or have a deep need to get "unstuck", practicing twice a day can provide a greater sense of grounding. For me, it seems I have less of myself to pull together and center if it's only been half a day since I practiced.
Be patient with yourself. Practice with precision and compassion.
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