Creating Quiet

May each person be breathing in warmth and light.
May the water, earth and trees be restored to highest health.

Today I awoke to snow. All I saw out of my windows was white magic. Since the NorEaster didn't have the force originally predicted, I can't help but think that the snow is nature cleansing from the hurricane. What I noticed, when I went out early in the morning to clean off my car, was how quiet it was. It was so quiet. Then I remembered; after the winds die down, all that is left is the quietness of snow, and snow is quiet.
Do we know how to bring in quiet when we need to? Many of us continue to do, rather than be. I took my time this morning, trying out my new snow brush with its multiple adjustments for cleaning snow and ice off of a car. I made this one of my meditations today, taking my time, unlike the many times I have rushed to clean off my snow-laden car to get somewhere. Even though I had places to go this morning, I gave myself enough time to enter into my day with quiet.
Was it, "Wax on, wax off," that was a line so many years ago in the moveie, "The Karate Kid?" I took the time to be with something so nothing as clearing my car. I meditated on the bristles of the brush as they smoothed against the windshield. I saw each drop of water suspend from the finish on the car. I breathed in the early morning snow air; clean, clear and very crisp.
I find that the quieter I am in the beginning of my day, the quieter I can be when life surrounds me with people, places and conversations that don't always go my way or fit my picture. The more I've cultivated quietness inside of me, the deeper is my foundation of well being.
I try to do this with food as well. Being quiet with my food allows me to deeply appreciate it; notice that it brings vitality into every cell of my body and nourishes me. Eating with intention allows me to taste my food very differently than when I mix it into conversations and decisions. It's yet another form of meditation, and often the most difficult.
Try this Food Meditation:
Take one meal and allow yourself to be only with you and your food.
Notice what you have prepared or bought to eat; the colors, textures, shapes and smells.
Notice what it feels like to lift your fork or spoon and take your first bite.
Breathe deeply into that first contact with your food.
See what you taste when you slow down and really spend time getting to know your food like your lover; the intimate one who you choose to allow inside of you.
What is new about this experience?
What tastes different?
Where in your body do you connect with your food?
What parts come alive when you eat?
What emotions arise?
Eat each bite in intimacy between yourself and your food.
When you finish, take out a journal and write for 5 minutes on what you noticed and experienced.
See how this food meditation connects you with the rest of your day.
See what other ways you can create quiet for yourself.