The Mansion Meditation Class was packed today; we ran out of chairs. This is my favorite half-hour of the week unless I’m reading a new Anne Tyler novel at night.

Laurie came for the first time, she got a necklace and a cross and her picture taken. That is her photo up top.

We talked, meditated, and then discussed love. We talked about the pain of love – people who leave, hide or die. And the great pleasures of love.

One of the residents said she was afraid to love her friends at the Mansion because she knew all of them might die, and soon.

On the upside, she said, she doesn’t want to give up love or not have it in her life, despite the risk.

“I’m more than 80,” she said, “almost everybody I loved is dead or dying. I’m afraid to love anyone sometimes, but love is a big part of me.”

We all meditated on that thought for a few minutes.

Another said she felt like a failure meditating because her mind kept going all over the place. “There is no failure in meditation,” I said. “Your mind is free to go where it wants. Meditation is mostly about doing nothing and waiting to see what happens.”

The people coming every week are opening up; they are meditating and like it; they say it slows them down, calms them down, and helps them push aside fear and feel safe.

We practice thinking about the good things in our lives as we meditate. The classic taking hold, I am pleased and grateful.

We laughed about Zinnia, who meditates naturally by lying down and going to sleep the minute I start to talk. The Queen Of Chill has no problem meditating.

I welcomed Laurie and told her it was our custom to photograph new meditation class students.