#299 Challenges, Difficulties, Obstacles - Meditation - Opportunities, Gifts, Treasures

“Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth,

Tame the dragon and the gift is yours.”                Noela Evans

       Gardner-Nix, J.  “The mindfulness solution to pain. Step-by-step techniques for chronic pain management.” New Harbinger Publications Inc, Oakland CA, 2009.

     Remember how very difficult it was to sit still for 5 minutes, or to resist scratching our nose during our first few sittings? Then, a few weeks later, everyone in the group sits still for 30 minutes - comfortably! Sitting in stillness at first appeared to be an obstacle, but was in fact a teacher, a gift. Such shifts are very important signals that we are growing increasingly more comfortable and competent - being - resting in awareness, in the present moment.
     What today appears as an impossible challenge, may well be transformed through training into equanimity. Continuous mindfulness practice continues to unfold benefits which we literally cannot, with our current understanding, imagine.

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