Transitions are always challenging in terms of maintaining my formal practice and this homecoming was no different. We got back to our apartment at 1:30am and I had to be up and out the door for work by 8am. I tried to plan for a formal sit so I woke up around 6:30am but my daughter came looking for breakfast about a half an hour later. So, I pretty much figured practice for the day was shot.
As I made my way through the day I was able to catch a few breaths here and there and to reflect on compassion for the passersby on the trains and sidewalks of my commute. Work passed by in a heedless, sleep-deprived blur and my return commute to pick up the cat from our friend’s apartment seemed to pass as if in a dream. Finally, after making dinner and going through the rites and rituals of bedtime I fell asleep with the kids.
That may have been all had I not woken up to find my wife still away at an appointment but I was fortunate enough to have a strong impulse to sit, if only for ten minutes and feel the breath. After the first sit I felt inspired to sit and reflect on the equality between myself and a person in my life who has been causing me consternation for another ten minutes with surprisingly good results. Funny how the practice works isn’t it.
Cattāri Brahmavihārā 
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