“Yikes,” I thought during a recent run, “my mind is a bit toxic!” Typically, running is a mindful and peaceful experience for me — my attention effortlessly focused on just running. It’s meditation in motion. But not so during this run.

As I’m gearing up for a run, I’m pondering the topic for this mindfulness blog. After selecting just the right gear so I’m neither too hot nor too cold for an eight mile run, I finally get myself outside. After a couple miles my mind wanders, reminding me that I need a blog topic. I let the thought go and return my attention to my running. Then the lightbulb goes off. What I’m doing right now - mindful running, is the blog! 

It’s about 9:00 pm and I’m about to meditate before going to bed. I thought I’d try something different and record my experiences while meditating. To do this, I’ll take breaks on occasion to share what’s happening. Here we go!

I began my meditation practice about 30 years ago. It’s easy for me to remember when I started practicing mindfulness because it was one year before my daughter was born. When she was about three years old, she would frequently find me when I was meditating and fall asleep in my lap. This was a delightful meditation perk! 

I love mountains.  I love the challenge of steep and challenging trails that take me to beautiful summits and down into the valleys below. Five years ago I decided to do my first solo backpacking trip on the Long Trail in Vermont.