Easter has always been my favourite time of year. I was raised with a multitude of Easter traditions (fundamentally born of my Ukrainian heritage). These traditions range from church on nearly every day of Holy Week to dying eggs and baking something called Babka bread, or “little grandmother” bread. Easter, for my family, is an abundant time of rituals and it’s through these rituals that I am able to truly rub up against the spirit of the season: resurrection, renewal, rebirth.
I think what I love most about Easter is the sense of hope, as well as an opportunity for new beginnings. Only this year, I find myself recovering from a medical procedure which has derailed my annual traditions. Instead of what I was calling my post procedure renaissance, filled with birdsong (see previous post: what’s your prescription), I have felt a bit disconnected from any sentiment of renewal and rebirth. The onwards and upwards momentum has become a bit sluggish and maybe even stalled. Or so, I thought!
You see, just when I thought that Easter might pass me by, I remembered the words and invitation to simply ‘begin again’ by the meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg. As I rested on the couch and watched the 6th movie in three days, I asked myself ‘if we can always begin again, what would that look like for me, right now’?
In that moment, I realised that I may not be able to bake bread and do Easter with all of the trimmings, but I could definitely boil an egg and maybe? even dye an egg. So I got up, took a breath, and dyed not one but six eggs. Then I got back on the couch. 😉
This small ‘begin again’ was like a fresh shoot of light. It was a mini- resurrection. Beginning again does not have to be a grand gesture; it is simply moving forward. For instance, in our meditation practice, it means coming back to the breath after being caught up in rumination. The great thing about beginning again is that we can do so with each breath that we take, moment to moment. For me, on the couch and filled with self-pity, beginning again looked like getting up and doing one small manageable task. The key word being manageable.
So, I put the same question to you. If we can always begin again, what would that look like for you right now? Where have you become sluggish and stalled? How can you pull the stick out of the spokes of the wheels of your life?
I missed delivering the online session last week due to a post procedural blip- hence the couch and movies. However, after many hours of resting and way too much Netflix, I am looking forward to seeing those of you who can make it this Tuesday at 10am at the Sanctuary’s online community meditation on Zoom. I will be guiding a ‘Begin Again’ meditation, inspired by the work of Sharon Salzberg. Why not join me?
-Jane
Click here to join me at the Sanctuary’s online meditation session on Tuesday morning at 10am
To listen to a guided meditation on ‘Beginning Again’, click the link below:
My Silent Place 
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