There is a classic text which tells of a sitar or lute player who gets discouraged in his meditation practice and asks the Buddha for advice. “What happens when you tune your instrument too tightly?” the Buddha asked, to which the musician answered “The strings break,”. “And what happens when you string it too loosely?”, the Buddha continued, “When it’s too loose, no sound comes out,” the musician answered, “the best tune comes from a string that is not too tight and not too loose.” “That,” said the Buddha, “is how to practice: not too tight and not too loose.”
That should be our resolution for meditation for this year – not too loose but also not too tight. Too loose means that we do not make it a priority and do not structure it into our schedule; however too tight means that we are harsh with ourselves when we fail or it becomes another thing to feel bad about. The Cookie Monster does not have it completely right – we do not wish to nourish our familiar patterns of avoidance by running away from difficult moments, but wish to look at everything that arises in our every moment. However, he makes us smile and take things – and ourselves – a bit lighter and in that he is a good teacher.
