Zen a go-go

Now that I'm back from a 1,400 mile road trip to visit my family in Ohio, I'm off tomorrow to visit my aunt in Washington, DC. As a result, blogging will be light until I return next Tuesday.

In the meantime, I'm grateful to practice two highly mobile pursuits: meditation and writing. Whereas a traveling musician, for instance, has to carry their instrument (quite a challenge if you play the cello or, heaven forbid, piano), a meditating writer can easily travel light. For this weekend's trip to DC, I'll carry my usual walking bag with Moleskine notebook and Waterman fountain pen, and I'll wear meditation beads on my wrist so I can do mantra practice in the airport and elsewhere.

When it comes down to it, we carry our breathing, ready-to-awaken selves wherever we go, so even if we have to drum on tabletops, meditate on bus-stop benches, or scribble poems on cocktail napkins, our creative selves cannot be denied. Although every spiritual and creative pursuit requires a certain amount of "stuff"--the tools of the respective trade--sometimes it's good to travel light, paring down our list of Essentials. Given our breath and the Present Moment, what more do we really need?

Happy trails, and I'll see you next week!