Reflection #12

Demons and Clouds

I awoke early. The darkness seemed already to be lifting slightly, and I knew that sleep would elude me for the rest of the night. My gloomy mood injected tumultuous thoughts into my mind and I struggled to stop the onslaught. After about an hour of meditating, with some limited success, it was clear that, if I wanted to find my way back to a peaceful reality, I would need a stronger solution. So I strapped on my running shoes and headed out into the rapidly brightening morning light.

The day was mostly cloudy, with angry looking clouds leering down at me, their bottoms ponderous and grey water that anticipated falling back to earth. But there were glimpses of clear blue sky interspersed among the clouds, as if the sky was a giant jigsaw puzzle with a few missing pieces which let the blue background just peek through.

The sky mirrored my mind; for the angry clouds weren't just floating in the sky, but they were floating through my mind. The great thing about running is that, if you want to focus on your breath, running will force the issue. Soon, my attention became more focused on my breath, my pace, and the beauty of this moment. This was a trance that pushed out the demons of the past and the future. Those demons that tried to ensnare me like the demon Vecna ensnared the children of Hawkins. The clouds in my mind, like the clouds in the sky, lightened, and let a tiny sliver of sunlight through. The sky obediently mirrored my rapidly improving mood. Vecna was vanquished, at least for this morning.

We often get trapped in clouds of our own making don't we? But they are illusions. Vapor. Temporary. It's easy to banish them with the bright fusion fire of your attention, just as the sun melts the anger out of those leering clouds. For they were no longer jeering at me, but were now cheering me on. My silent witnesses to the achievement of both my body and mind. The entire world, reality itself, was now at peace.

It's going to be a great day today.