Stop Drop Roll

Addison, TX 2010

One of the first safety lessons I recall learning as a child was “Stop Drop and Roll” – 

or, how to respond if you are caught on fire.

Last month, on a trip to Toronto where I had no wi-fi connection in the house I was staying in, or available data plan on my iPhone, I found myself struggling with free time. 

I wanted to meditate.

I wanted to do yoga. 

I went for a run every other morning. 

I read a lot of dharma.

I edited a lot of writing – it’s not like I was “doing nothing.” 

Lost/Found/Lost/Found

 

“I once was lost, but now am found/ was blind but now I see”

-Amazing Grace, American spiritual song

Lately I’ve had a rash of losing things. A couple of earrings – never a pair, always one of two – a hat a friend knitted for me, and, until two days ago when I found it again, a mala given to me by my teacher. All of these objects have great meaning for me, so losing them evoked sadness. However, the more disturbing, or curious, aspect to me is how exactly did I lose these things? In order to misplace something, I figure, there must be a moment when my mind itself was misplaced. In other words, I, as is said often in popular culture, “lost my mind” for a moment.