Have to admit that today did come with some challenges in getting my meditation in. I had to go downtown this morning for an appointment and it was raining really peacefully and there was the haze from the mountains (or pollution not sure) rolling in and I stopped to take a photo because it just felt like a great moment.

This was on the way to the appointment mind you so I actually stopped and enjoyed something while tending to other matters. It was a nice little break.
Anyway, got home though and my shoes were soaked and then I ate and took a nap. I really don’t want to meditate while I’m sleepy because I’m worried I’ll start to doze off when I want to be aware.
I mentioned yesterday that I want to try to meditate outside, the rain had let up and it was nice, breezy and party cloudy.

Things were going great, and the dogs were just lounging on the deck. My door sits slightly higher that the deck so I was able to let my legs cross easily on the deck and I sat on the kitchen floor, super comfortable.
Dogs were not about letting me do this outside today. I got three minutes in before one started to bark at some noises from the trees, then another kept pushing past me to decide whether she wanted in or out and then the third kept licking my hands. I’m sure there are seasoned meditation experts who could ignore all this stuff but I’m on day two and couldn’t keep my focus.
I settled on having the door open and putting a pillow in the kitchen floor so I could hear the birds and leaves rustle. The dogs kept scratching around though and I’m sure at one point the world’s loudest bird made an appearance but I brought myself back to focusing on my breaths.
I knew it wouldn’t be so easy each time I try and I am grateful that I got to experience a challenging time. In the end I did stay focused and only budged to tell the dogs to stop scratching at the door frame.
I’m still learning and I am loving it.