Eyes Closed

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It's a minor complaint, the doctor said, and the best way to treat it is with warm compresses to the eyes. He told me this a year ago and I didn't listen. This time he had my attention.

My new resolution, then, is to spend 15 minutes a day with my eyes closed, a warm washcloth spread across them, hopping up every five minutes or so to reheat the cloth.  This is my new meditation time.

It's strangely relaxing. The warmth of the compress, the blotting out of the world, my mind wandering, me trying, trying to keep it empty but largely failing. Still, it's a beginning, an earnest attempt to spend a few minutes a day in the mental equivalent of a warm bath.

When the compress cools, I re-enter the world reluctantly. Lights seem too bright, noises too loud. My eyes are still sore;  healing them will take time. But my mind is starting to crave its quiet time.