A very good friend of mine just gave birth to her first child. Only 3 weeks ago, she was nervous, didn’t know what to expect, and now I see her on Skype and it’s like she’s been a parent for years. I guess she’s just in the beginning of sleep deprivation and a steep learning curve, and there’s lots of feel-good hormones about, but clearly she’s in love. I see how the seeds of patience are being planted right at this moment, as he quietly falls asleep while feeding. Then she holds him up to the camera and he sleeps, his little head bobbing. This cuteness will serve him well when he’s 13 and trying to convince his parents he needs a new computer, or whatever technology we’re sporting in 13 years.

These are the moments, right? First meditation class last week was lovely-we sat and talked about meditation, then we entered into the practice, prepared for potentially invasive thoughts, or nods of sleepiness, or wandering, wandering minds. Then we practiced. Listen to the sounds in the room. Come back to the breath.

Stay with the moment and accept it for what it is. Don’t get too hung up on the positives, and

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don’t get dragged down by the negatives. Find the

balance, somewhere in the middle, between peace, discomfort, and sleep. Where’s the middle of that? Think of a triangle…

It’s like my friend gazing at her son. Maybe there are words in her mind, maybe not. I saw her just BE. And it was beautiful.