A Guided Meditation for Ecumenical Worship at the C.A. 961006
Thursday, October 10th, 1996Close your eyes and breathe deeply, in… then out… Sit comfortably. Relax your feet, your legs… Let the tension seep away from your back… your shoulders… Relax your arms…. Let your head rest comfortably on your neck, with no strain or tension….
Imagine it is now time for you to leave the CA. You get up and leave the auditorium, decend the stairs and find that there is a pile of your baggage sitting in the lobby. You wouldn’t think of leaving it there, would you? So go and put on the heavy coat, sling the bags over your shoulders, and take a suitcase in both hands.
As you walk out of the building and head home, you notice that things seem slightly different. Where you usually see bike racks, there are now shrubs. You realize parking meters, sign posts, light poles have all turned into tall trees. As you walk, the city disappears, you find yourself walking home, by yourself, through woods filled with late afternoon autumn light. A few leaves fall, you sense a deer could be around the next turn in the path, but you can’t entirely enjoy your walk because you have all the baggage to carry. How far can you walk before having to readjust things? Are you pulling a suitcase on wheels? Does it get caught on roots?
Around the next bend in the walk, instead of a deer, you see a very close friend of yours, sitting on a bench. Your friend — is it your grandparent, your significant other, an imaginary playmate, your confidant? — Your friend leaps off the bench and greets you with great warmth. You were expected. Your friend leads you into a comfortable cottage, straight out of a Fairy Tale, and brings some refreshments into the sunny room.
Your friend stands in the door and looks at you, still in that heavy coat, still with the bags over your shoulders, and laughs. “Take that coat off and let me take your bags!†your friend says.â€My! These are heavy? What are you doing carrying all this anger, fear, and resentment around?â€
You friend sits you down on a very comfortable sofa, puts a drink in your hand, and asks you to explain what is in the heaviest bag. Talk to your friend about the heaviest thing you are carrying around.
Time seems to have hardly passed, but you must continue on your way. You get up to leave, and take your heavy coat out of the closet. “You don’t need that,†your friend says. “It’s not cold outside, leave it here with me. In fact, leave it all here with me, you don’t need to carry this around. I can take care of it for you.â€
You walk out of the cottage into the late afternoon light, and wave goodbye to your friend. When you walk down the path now, you feel light and free, you run and catch a falling leaf, And before you know it, you’re back in front of the CA.
Return inside, sit and relax again, knowing all those concerns, that heavy baggage which slows you down, doesn’t need you to carry it everywhere you go. Relax, breath deeply, and open your eyes when you are ready.
