Philosophy Friday

Buddha was asked what he had gained from meditation.
"Nothing" he replied.
"But let me tell you what I have lost.
Anger, anxiety, worry, depression and fear..."

Another set of injections into my subacromial and AC joint today. The surgeon seemed pleased he had managed to get a needle nearly 2 centimètres into me...

Whilst the injections have made a huge improvement to my shoulder functionality they have always caused me a lot of anxiety, worry, and, well, pain. Nearly 5 decades I've never reacted well to needles.

But again today I approached the procedure with a mindful approach, trying to centre myself far away from the shoulder, focus on breathing and just being. Was it pleasant? No, was it bearable? Yes. Interestingly my heart rate actually lowered for a while, but my BP was fractionally up afterwards. A good step forward. 

Coffee and catch-up with two old friends, and then under a patch of blue a wander out to a favourite little bridge to sit and give thanks. 
Rewarded with this. Even in a muddy puddle there's a beauty if you look.