Happy in Your Bowl...

I meet up with Omar’s mom every Wednesday to take Jacopo to judo. We drop Jacopo off and then stroll the city together. Her minimal English and my 12 words of Italian vocabulary, we manage conversations- surprisingly deep conversations of religion, meditation, Buddha. “Breath out black and breathe in white,” she says. So simple. Why didn’t I think of this before? “Make yourself like a fish in a bowl, a fish no anger can reach. All happy in your bowl. When you feel anger come, fight anger, breathe in white, let anger pass.” She teaches me not to force meditation, to allow my bubbling thoughts to rise, because they are. Thoughts stir in my head like a high-speed blender I can’t unplug. “It’s okay.” She says. “No problems. Let thoughts arise, say hello, and let go.” And so I’m slowly letting go, attempting shorter meditations, and breathing in white.