Meditation is a friend of mine. The level of friend is the real question. 

I am sure we all have different levels of our friend tier. Acquaintance, the friend of a good friend, the friends that you see one to four times a year to hug and gossip and renew, work friends, friends you wish were better friends, family who are unavoidable friends, family who are heart friends, friends who are like family, best friends, soul friends, romantic friends, and I am sure there are many more. So when I say meditation is a friend of mine, what do I mean?

Do I practice superficially just to say I do? Do I practice out of obligation? Do I practice sincerely what seems like only a handful of times a year? Is my practice a chore sometimes and joyful others (like visiting family can be)? Is it a practice I feel with my heart, or a practice that touches my soul, or is it a relationship that could sustain me when all others fail?

The answer is yes.

It is something I feel I barely know, something that others know much better — an experience that leads to the profound just a few times a year, that sometimes feels like a job or something I know I can't and shouldn't avoid. Other times it nourishes me, releasing my heart and spirit to glow like the sun, nourishing me so I feel like I am being kissed from the inside out, that I am loved beyond compare.

My goal for the new year is to treat my meditation practice like the friend I wish I knew better. No excuses or if only's. To let meditation open up my heart like deep friendships do. To do this will take great commitment, effort, and discipline. But don't all our worthwhile friendships take just that? 

Here's to a Happy New Year full of meditation and friendship.