Was That a Fly or a Meditation Teacher in Disguise?

When recently sitting quietly for twenty minutes to just notice my breath and to come more into the present moment, a fly came to visit me to say hi! As I sat concentrating on my breath the buzz of this fly penetrated the very quiet space I was so longing for. Breath in, breath out...buzz...buzz....buzzz..that damn fly...focus back on your breath... breath in...buzzzzzzzzzzz.......buzzzzzzzzzzz. Does this sound familiar?

For those of you who regularly meditate my visiting fly reminded me of the thoughts that also visit me when I sit to notice my breath. I sometimes wonder whether the practice should be notice all your thoughts and the occasional breath as it seems when you sit to just watch your breath your thoughts jostle for your attention and your breath seems to get lost in the process.

So making this connection I worked with including the fly, my thoughts and noticing my breath in the practice. Remembering Pema Chodron’s wise advice “Use all the unwanted things in your life as the means for awakening compassion for yourself and others”, I decided to just accept that today’s practice was going to include a fly symphony as well as my busy mind.... and in doing that the fly and my thoughts, were just there and my breath constant, rhythmic and releasing was also there to support me to be just there.

At the completion of this sitting, I found myself with a smile on my face realizing that the fly had been a great gift to me, to remind me of the value that everything has for us when it appears in our life- even a buzzing fly. So where are the flies in your life and rather than “swatting” them so they are no longer there, how might they be able to help you to just be there?