A rose is a rose is a rose..

A wet and soggy start to my day today, running with my friend, Geri, in the wind and rain. Yuk. Puddles were unavoidable and left our feet soaked through.

Back to my meditation practice, which I did this evening. I struggled to focus, with a lot going around my mind, but this is the whole point. With any discipline, the most important thing is you do anyway, even if you don’t feel like it. So I did.

Meditation has many parallels with running. The hardest thing about running can often be getting out the door, but once you’re out and once you have finished you feel better. You never can tell whether it’s going to be a good run or a bad run and is often a surprise. With meditation it is very similar. The hardest thing is sitting ready to start but once it’s done you always feel better. And you never know what might come up in the mind, where it will wander to. Awareness is the key.

So my meditation journey continues… day by day, no matter how hard.

My photo today is of these beautiful roses, cut from the garden, which is continuing to flower time and time again. And to encourage it to flower, you have to cut the flowers from the bush. Prune it. Meditating is a little like pruning the rose bush. Noticing the unhelpful, repetitive thoughts that we longer need and letting them go to make space for more helpful thoughts and ideas.

Overall a positive day today and some beautiful flowers to appreciate.. a rose is a rose is a rose..