Today, I took part in my first online group meditation session via the video conferencing app Zoom (which is very much the app of the moment).
It happened to start in the nick of time as I received an email from Just the Tonic seconds before to inform us off-the-record that this year's Edinburgh Fringe was cancelled. I knew it was unlikely to go ahead with the COVID-19 situation as it is, but it's still a blow that's hard to compute; particularly when I lost last year's Fringe to circumstances beyond my control too.
The meditation session itself was great. My old meditation teacher Neelam led us through it with finesse. I'd booked to attend their in-person meditation classes this term, but hadn't been along, so the video version was a welcome diversion. There were fifteen of us taking part and a real sense of solidarity despite our enforced isolation as we followed Neelam's instructions; he has a wonderful turn of phrase that helps you see your practice in a different light and learn from it. Two images from the session stick in my mind: (1) that we were meeting as one despite being spread across the county, and (2) we should take each breath like a welcome guest in our body.
(It sounded a lot less wanky in situ).
Meditation's a much-needed skill right now as I carefully navigate my way around panic. To lose Edinburgh again takes away my positive focus before I even consider the financial impact if I don't get all my money back (*cough* for the second year running *cough*). Meanwhile, my main income from Mostly Comedy is frozen until we can reopen our doors, while I plug the running costs with my own money...with the amount I have to find for my dad's house at the back of my mind too. And that's before I even consider the pandemic; something tells me I'll be meditating a lot over the next few months. That, or busking.