Since the holidays, I have maintained a commitment to meditation almost every day. This morning as I sat cross legged I was conscious of the strong sun on my face. It instantly connected me to memories of being on a beach – off I went to Miami, Belize and Los Angeles. I basked in the feeling of the sun on my face until it slid behind the neighboring building. I took a few moments to think about the warm moment after it was gone. Why does the warm sun alter my whole state of being? After all, it’s just temperature! Here’s what I came up with.
- Warm sun = good times. The memories associated with the sun are typically accompanied by feelings of happiness, excitement and fun. In my beach-hopping meditation, I watched my favorite local band, Brothers of Others, play outside on a lazy Sunday in Miami. I felt the connection with my companions, I heard the music, my shoulders relaxed. Then I was pulling up to an island on a ferry in Belize, seeing it for the first time, riding a bicycle along it’s dirt roads with the wind in my hair, laughing, jumping off a dock in the water, gazing up at the full moon though palm trees, listening to a guitarist play Hotel California. My chest relaxed. Next, I flashed back in time to my Saturday mornings in California, biking The Strand from Manhattan Beach to Venice Beach and back. I jumped to my Sundays, driving up the coast and spending the days in Malibu. The narration in my head said, “your California life experiences were true live-in-the-moment ones.” The corners of my lips curled into a smile. These were all the sun-invoking memories that came flooding back to me in meditation like old friends.
- Freedom rings…in the sun. Freedom is another association I have with the warmth of the sun. Escaping to warmer climates means I’m out of the pressure cooker of New York life and into the discovery of myself and others. Warm weather experiences are typically associated with expansion and creativity. In New York, my success for work-life balance is marked “needs improvement.” I have a well developed Christel – NY Life script that reads, “work first, think work/work-related second, infill with self-development tasks to complete where possible.” The Christel – Outside of NY Life script reads, “open universal dialogue channel with higher self, connect with collective conscious, explore, play.”
- Sun’s out, guns out. When it’s warm outside I am more inspired to move my body. I connect best with exercise that includes an experience like: doing yoga outside, walking on the beach (preferable one I’ve never explored before), biking riding on The Strand, paddle boarding or swimming on/in a beautiful body of water. Point being, the Christel – Enjoyable Exercise script includes many things I can do in warm weather.
So this afternoon, I’m #sohappyandgrateful for the sun and for the gift of the sun on my face amidst this January day in New York. It’s also an acknowledgement of the many scripts I have developed and an opportunity to perhaps redline some of them to make me happier in the moment, even when the sun isn’t warm on my face.
Let’s Discuss: what associations have you attached to that rock of fire?