With eyes wide open...

My normal way of meditating is on my prayer stool, in my bedroom with my eyes shut! But yesterday I found myself having a second time of meditation sitting on a grassy bank under a tree with my eyes wide open! Somehow the gently lapping waves and the autumn sunshine on a quiet beach invited me into a silence that was deeper than just "a pleasant walk on the beach". So for 20 minutes or so I just sat and opened myself to the sensory beauty of warmth, sounds, sights and stillness. Of course photos can't re-create the atmosphere but these two remind me of an unexpectedly grace-filled time.