Today I decided to do a walking meditation. I was so inspired until I walked outside and realized how cold it was. I had to have chosen the coldest day to walk around the block for twenty minutes. I even forgot my gloves! I set my iPhone timer, put my hands and my phone in my pocket and braced the winds of N Moore Street. Walking meditation is a fairly new concept for me. I have done it a few times on retreat but it isn't anything I have ever practiced at home. I am a cushion girl. I love my cushion. But I realized that as soon as I started to walk that running to my cushion every morning as I do may just be a very safe way to practice. Walking. Step. Lift. Feel the base of my feet. The actual "living meditation" is the real challenge, right? Everything can be beautiful from the cushion. It's the messy, unexpected coincidences of everyday living that can be so frustrating. Accepting whatever is is far more accessible when I have a scented candle burning in front of me siting in front of my altar with all the things I love surrounding me. Outside is cold, the scent is closer to sewage and I take my steps carefully walking around smeared dog poop and puddles of pee. I am walking during early morning dog rush. I am easily distracted so I go back to feeling the sensation of my foot in my cozy Ugg boot. I feel the weight of my body. My sister-in-law is learning how to walk again after a recent surgery left one side of her body very weak. She has to focus on her numb foot to try to bring sensations back. Here I am reminding myself to notice sensations I take for granted on a regular basis. Focus. Step. Lift. Touch. So many steps to walking. I am swept away with the mechanics that I suddenly lose my balance and fall to my knees like I have forgotten how to walk. I feel like I am back in church except I'm not kneeling in the gothic chapel of my childhood but underneath the open skies of TriBeCa. I decide that since I am already on my knees I would send out a prayer to whoever might be listening: may every step I take be an energetic message to Amy's happy feet. I get up. People are starting to look at me. "Need help?" "No," I said. I turn around and work my way back. Sukeyxx