There is a pool of creek water, fresh creek water that accumulates alongside this fast-moving, it looks like a river,

but it is technically called a creek along a regular walk that I take. And while my pup

Nell will lap up some water for a drink and then Tootles about in curiosity, I often will

gaze at this clear pool of still water that has

gathered while I sit on a fallen tree that lies near it, perfect little seat. And I can see every

rock in that water, every pebble, every twig, anything that rests beneath the surface, all the way to the bottom.

If I were to drop something in it, I could easily reach out and lift it back out.

When we sit to meditate, we give our mind the opportunity to find calm.

It is in this stopping that allows us to rest,

that gives the space to feel calm.

It is important to remember that to meditate is not to stop our thoughts.

We are simply stopping our physical body from movement that takes us

out of the present moment. There are walking meditations that are most wonderful as well,

but until we understand how to meditate, sitting still physically is the most helpful. So that then

we can eventually, as this muscle

becomes tone, technically be in a state of meditation and ease of being throughout our

entire day, no matter what we're doing. But first we have to train ourselves to understand

how to do it. And the best way to do that is to be still. When we stop in this

intentional moment to meditate, breathing deeply, consciously paying attention to our breath,

the feeling of calm has room to introduce itself to us. We don't seek it out. Instead, we just breathe deeply in

and out, slowly paying attention to how our breath feels as it moves through our body. It is by knowing

how to calm ourselves that we begin the process of healing, because we are calming

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