Can a small cue stay gentle when I want it to mean something?
I’ve been sitting for a few months after a library book, and I’m still learning what I’m doing. I like the idea of lighting a candle before sitting, not because it fixes anything, but because it gives my attention a small doorway: “now, sit, breathe, be here.”
But I wonder if I’m starting to treat that candle like a report card. If I light it, have I done well? If I skip it, has the practice gone off track? And when I return to the breath, is that just a reset button, or is it something closer to taking refuge in the Buddha, the teaching, and the community? I’m not sure what refuge means in my own words.
I’d love to hear how you keep a simple cue from becoming a badge, a ritual from becoming a performance, and a practice from becoming a ledger.