I guess it was a month or so ago when I noticed an extremely dry patch of skin on the top of one of my feet where the ankle and foot join. I've had various weird skin conditions for most of my life, and since it was irritating, I didn't worry too much about it ... until I realized that it was a callous ... a callous caused by my meditation posture.

I realized that one shouldn't hope to progress when it comes to meditation (the goal should be to not have goals). But am I getting better? Hmm....

Since I added a yoga routine to my daily activity, I've noticed improvement in my ability to do my routine. I can bend more easily and it doesn't hurt so much … isn't that a fine compliment to anything, "It does hurt as much." At least, I feel good about how that is going.

But meditation is still a struggle.

I realize that this aspect is part of what meditation is all about … just about everyone simply calls it practice. I just finished a nice little article in the March 2003 issue of Shambhala Sun entitled, The Nine Stages of Training the Mind by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and I realized that after years of meditation that I'm not sure if I've even reached stage 1.

Granted, I've not been the most dedicated or consistent, and that should explain my progress. But I'm not too concerned. I enjoy it, and instead of trying to progress, I believe I will just sit back and watch what happens.