Put the Glass of Muddy Water down next to you.

• Gemma Gladstone
• November 3, 2016

Imagine that your mind, your worrying mind is a glass of water into which you have just dumped a handful of muddy sand. If you keep agitating the glass, if you keep turning it around and lifting it up & down, then the dirty sand will never settle. It will remain unclear, cloudy and busy, full of moving particles. This is like what happens when you let your mind follow unwanted, unhelpful or ‘unresolvable’ thoughts. When you ju…st leave it, when you don’t keep touching the glass, the muddy sand eventually finds its resting place at the bottom of the glass. The water which was completely occupied by cloudy sediment just a few moments ago, is now crystal clear. This is one of the benefits you get from practicing mindfulness and mindful meditations. During a mindful meditation to breath for example, you can let go of agitating the glass that is your mind. By not following and getting seduced by the craziness of your thoughts, you make the decision to simply place that glass onto a table next to you and let it be. Clarity follows, as does an opportunity for refuge from the daily hassles of life and the hassles of your mind. Taking refuge in a daily meditation practice, no matter how small, is a gift to your body and mind. It allows, if only for a short time, for you to see through the glass to the other side. That transparency is nurturing and sustaining.

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