The Gifts of Meditation

Although I have only been meditating for a few months, I have come to the conclusion that the gifts of meditation are probably too many to count.  Meditation is itself a gift.  It is easy to say that, but it needs to be experienced to be truly understood.  After only a little while of practicing meditation, I began to realize that many of the fruits of meditation were ones that I had not expected.  I found myself meditating every day, not only to experience the simplicity of meditation, but also to be with the group of fellow meditators that had welcomed me into their group.  I also found that many of my other relationships were changing for the better, often in subtle and rather mysterious ways.  So for me, from the very beginning, the practice of meditation has been closely connected to the wonderful gift of friendship.

The friendships with my fellow meditators are particularly treasured for several reasons. When we come together to meditate, we come in peace and simplicity.  We ask and require nothing from each other except a time of shared silence, stillness, and simplicity.  We do not come together with selfish agendas or plans.  And yet, by the time the meditation is over, I realize that I feel closer to my friends.  Something has happened during that time, even in the silence and stillness.  Gifts have been given and received.  

Most importantly, this gift of friendship is not limited to my meditating friends.  If that were the case, the gift would not be so remarkable.  After all, most of us have formed friendships with people and work or school, because we spend time with them, and come to know them on a deep level.  But somehow, the practice of meditation seems to open the doors to a much wider kind of friendship and love.  I think this is because the practice of meditation teaches us so much about ourselves.  Through self-knowledge, we gradually become our “true selves,” the people we called to be.   Once we learn to practice meditation unselfishly, we can become open to others in humility and selflessness.  Practicing meditation is really being open to the work of love in our lives.  The simple act of being, without expectation and without selfish desires, allows us to discover who we really are.  Friendship needs to begin in our own souls.  Although we are individuals, we are not isolated.  God himself lives in our innermost heart, and he calls us to seek him there before we look elsewhere, so that we may learn the true meaning of love.  Once we realize the deep friendship that God calls us to, we can embrace all humanity, and indeed all creation, with the peace and love that God has mysteriously and wondrously cultivated in our own souls.  

The practice of meditation breaks down boundaries we thought were insurmountable, and even boundaries that we never knew were there.  We come to know ourselves as we truly are; and, miraculously, we can come to know others in truth, friendship, and love.

Meditation speaks to all of us in different ways.  But I have learned that it’s about friendship – friendship with ourselves, friendship with those we meet in our daily lives, friendship with the world.  The truly amazing thing is that God offers us this friendship every minute of every day.  If we sit down to meditate, in simplicity and humility, we will soon find that in our simple act of love and attention, we are receiving a love that exceeds any expectations we could ever have, from a friend whose love is eternal. 

Beth Cardone