The Big Sit

I have joined Tricycle magazine’s 90 day BIG SIT. I have joined this with Vince, our friend Kurt and many other people around the globe. This is a commitment to sit in meditation for twenty minutes a day for ninety days. I affectionately refer to the BIG SIT as the BIG SHIT. I have to add a bit of humor to the commitment. Otherwise I will freak out about how hard it is to commit to anything, never-the-less something that takes 20 minutes every day. The first few days Vince and I sat together. It was comical torture. The first day when the bell rang indicating our 20 minutes had finished, I dramatically fell off my cushion and began giggling. Who knew 20 minutes could feel like 2 hours when all you are doing is sitting? I mean really, I know 20 minutes feels like 2 hours when I am at the dentist, but just sitting?

So, last week I told Vince I was going up stairs to get something before we watched a movie and when I got to the top of the steps I realized it was a good time to sit. So, I did. About fifteen minutes later, Vince stood at the bottom of the steps and yelled “where are you”?. Oh, what a question. Where was I? Well, the “I” he was referring to was caught in a whopper of a to-do list, all in my mind as I sat on my cushion. I apparently belong on the Love Boat show as Julie McCoy, the cruise ship activity planner. I was planning. Planning, planning, planning. I am an expert planner and believe I could have kicked Julie Mccoy’s butt in planning all of the events on the Love Boat (I do realize the Love Boat was just a television show…).

Another day last week as I was sitting I opened my eyes and began to get up off the zafu to complete a task I had been thinking of..then it occurred to me I was sitting…the bell hadn’t gone off. Seriously, I got so busy planning to do something I forgot I was sitting. Apparently, this 90 day commitment is revealing a habit I have developed. I am moving through life, planning and doing as if I am a robot. A Julie McCoy robot. Not exactly what I want my life to look like.

For more info on the BIG SIT you can check it out on www.tricycle.com.