On January 11th, 2016, I started a daily practice of writing a joke meditation of the day called Cracked Pot Meditations. I was still recovering from the treatment of cancer, and I was having very challenging cognitive issues, so I chose just to put something simple and easy to write every day. Posting it to the blog allowed me to have some accountability. Some of those meditations were poorly written and unedited. I have gone back and begun editing these and adding an illustration, starting with the April 27th meditation. I hope you enjoy.
Meditation for August 5th
Moving
We are movers. We historically moved more than we stayed in one place. We were nomads. The idea of home is a relatively new social construct, especially after World War II and the rising popularity of homeownership brought to the returning GIs with the GI Bill.
When we move, we have to disassemble our entire home and then rebuild it somewhere else. Sometimes it doesn’t fit as well, or we find the new place is much better. We can’t compare where we were to where we are now, even if you’re comparing decades at one place and a month at the new place.
Sometimes we leave a bad place for a better place. Maybe we are moving out of an ex’s place into a new place. Perhaps we never felt at home because the roommates were always listening to that Jay Z Radiohead mashup album. We dream of being in a better place. We start to imagine our lives changing positively because of the place or the area it is in.
Sometimes we move to start something new. We move in with our partner to start a new life. Sometimes we move alone to be alone. We move for our jobs.
It is always exciting to move. We can start over. We have dreams that the new place will be inspiring. We’ll be better people just by moving. We have these unrealistic expectations that we will break years of ingrained behavior just from being inside different walls.
It’ll be strange at first. Things aren’t exactly where they were before. Noises or the absence of noises can disrupt sleep. There is dust everywhere, so your nose is encrusted in dry mucus. You sneeze. The lights are in different places. Maybe they’re too bright or not bright enough. Outlets aren’t where they used to be, so you have to change where your phone charges at night.
The important thing is to make it your home.
You’ll get used to it, and then you’ll move again.
Why is it so important to have a home? All our spiritual heroes were homeless. They lived off the land and in caves. They didn’t have AC or pillows. It’s almost as if the comfort of home closes our eyes to God. When we are at home, we’re not on a journey, and we start to forget that magic exists.
Then some people think they can be at home wherever they are. They complain about the temperature and will ask that it be adjusted. They will want certain music played at a specific volume. They will move chairs wherever they want and then leave them there. They deserve it. They will ask for more pillows and blankets. They need their entire environment to adapt to them.
Then some of us are still trying to find that home.
Prayer
Nisse,
Or what we now call a Gnome,
Protect my home,
Not from invaders and others that might do me harm,
But from the cold, bitter loneliness,
But let me never forget,
To leave the home for adventure,
So that my home will be a castle when I return,
My chairs, thrones,
My bed, the most comfortable it’s ever been,
And that I can return wiser and changed,
But let me find a home,
Not just a house.
Amen
Craft
To appease your local Nisse (Gnome), leave out a bowl of porridge and/or beer every Thursday night. Make sure it’s good beer and good porridge, or you might find yourself dealing with a wrathful home god.
Goal
Remember, home is where you find your heart, but don’t take over another’s house because you need everything to be just right for your comfort at the expense of others.