The Mansion meditation class is becoming more and more important to me, and I think, some of the residents. One talked about meditating to relieve the pain in her leg. Another said she was in the hospital and walking down the corridor when a nurse shouted at her to get back in her room.

She was angry but sat and meditated, thinking to remember her breathing.

A third resident told me she gets lonely for her past life in the morning around dawn when she usually made breakfast for her family, whom she never sees anymore. She went to the dining room before anyone else came, and she meditated for ten minutes.

“It helped me see the light,” she said, “I have to accept life and where it takes me.”

The class had its biggest turnout yet this morning, because of Covid restrictions I can’t take any more students right now.

I’ve volunteered to come early in the morning sometimes, before breakfast. I was asked to bring Zinnia to Memory Care, one of the residents dreams about her late dog every night. When she saw Zinnia, she started crying, she was so happy.

At the start, I play a recorded guided meditation program on my Iphone. Then we talk. Then we meditate silently for five or ten minutes. Then we talk some more. This is one of the most satisfying things I have done in a long time, and I am committed to continuing it. Emily Knudsen, the new Activities Director sat and mediated with us.

She looked unsettled before the meditation, she’s getting used to a tough job, she said she felt so much better afterward. So do I. That class lifts my heart. We are beginning to talk openly and gently about the aging process and the challenges of living in assisted care. It really helps.

Every meditator gets an Amish necklace when they come.