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News:
03/01/2005
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Cheerio, baby!
Meditation, good medicine for the body and soul, should be practiced frequently for the sake of good mental and physical health. Have you remembered to put in your few minutes a day, or maybe fifteen, to help you relax and contemplate the big picture before it unfolds for the day? After reading an article in a medical magazine about the benefits of daily meditation, I looked about for a quiet place for inner thinking. The article I read stressed an empty, clear mind to receive good thoughts. I imagined putting a roadblock in my mind to stop all traffic. I thought of the highway signs that say, “Prepare to stop” with graphic cartoons of men with shovels and thought this was a good way to put on the mental brakes before any stress could enter.
Church, I decided, would be a quiet place for meditation, especially in the “crying room” where a parishioner needn’t mix with the congregation. I went to the church early and was installing my mental roadblock signs when a lady carrying a fussy toddler sat down beside me. Worse luck. But just as I was contemplating a postponement of the quiet time, the resourceful mother fished in her purse and brought out a plastic bag of Cheerios. Magic! The little one dipped into the bag, spilling and eating, and all was quiet until the bag was empty. I put the meditation on hold as I thought about the virtues of Cheerios. I visualized the Safeway shelves filled with cereal on special occasions. I wished I had stock in General Mills but my quietude was over as the empty plastic bag landed on the floor. What next? Did I dare put up my road blocks and try meditation again? Luckily for me, the thoughtful mother then reached in her bag and pulled out a pacifier which she popped into the child’s mouth. Blessed quiet.
Instead of using my quiet time now to advantage, I forgot to clear my mind and instead began to visualize all of the nervous drivers on Highway 12, each one with bags of Cheerios for tranquilizers. Drivers who didn’t like cereal could use a pacifier instead. No more rude tailgating and unsafe passing. Everyone could drive courteously while sucking on a pacifier. I could start an adult pacifier company and produce the little gadgets in designer colors. My product would be called “ROAD RAGE BEGONE”. Too late now to clear my mind for this day, I concentrated instead on the church service and enjoyed watching the little one next to me who had fallen asleep with her feet in my lap. Watching an innocent child sleep peacefully was as good as meditation.
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