On Swans in a Lake

Yesterday, I had an adventure in the Palisades.

Before my weekly acupuncture session with Mary Ellen, my friend Aymee took my mom and me to the Meditation Gardens. The Lake Shrine Meditation Gardens, to be exact. It was about 5 minutes away from Mary Ellen's house, and a totally unexpected thing to see while cruising on Sunset Boulevard. It crept up on the left side of the winding road - first, the temple on the grounds - majestic and a stark contrast in golds and whites to the gray, overcast sky. Then, we turned into the parking lot, took a few steps, and came upon a gorgeous vista: lush green grounds surrounding a sprawling, calm lake fully equipped with some ducks and even a couple of swans.

Whoa. This place was phenomenal, and right smack in the middle of L.A. I was immediately moved by its beauty and serenity.

We walked around the lake, stopping and taking pictures here and there. We entered the main meditation area, which looked like a little church but had pictures of the iconic leaders of all religions instead of just the big J.C. I sat down, closed my eyes, and - boom - started meditating. I couldn't believe it - the same person who generally struggles at quieting down my mind and body to get focused on meditation actually fell right into it. Either there's something special about swans in a lake in the middle of L.A. or your gal is getting better at meditation (probably both). I focused on visualizing the chemo attacking my cancer cells, and without even trying, started repeating positive affirmations about being well-equipped to handle this battle and being in control of my future. I have no idea where these affirmations came from - I just started thinking them and repeating them silently to myself. All in all, a pretty awesome experience, especially for a day where I was feeling a little blah from this week's chemo.

After our time at the Meditation Gardens, I had an excellent acupuncture session with Mary Ellen followed by a tough legs workout at the gym. Duke's 52 point victory over Colgate capped off a pretty excellent Friday.

And it was also the two month anniversary of my surgery. Time flies, doesn't it? I should have sent Dr. Ramos some flowers. Or maybe a swan.