5am wake ups usually mean a flight or a crying baby. Today, it meant the start to a 6 hour meditation in the woods.
The evening before we embarked on our journey, we got together and discussed the terms of the challenge. Our group decided we wanted to fast for the 6 hours, and we also wanted complete silence on our walk to our spots. After an early bedtime and setting three different 5am alarms, we were ready to go.
Too often, we forget to look up; but this morning, it was hard not to. The stars shined brighter than any that I had ever seen, and our hearts pumped fast with exhilaration about what we were about to do. We all assumed we would discover the secret to the universe, the meaning of life, or at least see God. But instead, half of us fell asleep and the other half wasted time pacing back and forth.
Some wrote out their feelings on the provided index cards, some used the landscape as medium and made their own art, while the rest found peace in their dreams. I was joined by a local dog wanting to play fetch at the 2 hour mark, and he kept me company for awhile. Don’t get me wrong though, it gave us all a lot of time to work out our personal lives and find some peace. Personally, I was able to come to peace with my travel plans for the future and college decisions that had been causing me stress.
In the reflection time afterwards, we were all able to say we overcame a personal hurdle in our lives, and we were all able to say we moved forward.