Practice, Companionship, and Two Chairs.

We all want companionship. Either we want it or we are fighting to keep it. So, whether you are accustomed (or unaccustomed) to being home alone or sitting on the couch curled up next to someone, we all fear the same thing; being without genuine intimate companionship along the road.

As I sat in a local sushi spot, submerged in my "trying to be okay sitting in this restaurant alone without reaching for my cell phone" facade, I noticed these chairs in front of me. The first thing I thought was, "Opportunity." Then, I had to snap a photo of them.

As you can see below, neither of the chairs were filled. Completely empty, spacious, open. There was no telling who occupied them before, nor who would after. Their openness was inviting, tantalizing. They had this presence about them. They seemed to offer endless opportunity.

I found myself envying a set of chairs.

I wished I was as graceful as they were in that restaurant. Instead, I was entertaining a secret battle in my head between me, my cell phone, and my loneliness.

Sitting there, contemplating these bar stools, I was reminded of my own desire for companionship and how my practice has infused and confused it. As practitioners, we are told meditation helps remind us of our minds spaciousness, as well as our compulsive habit to fill that space.

Well, folk...the sutras, gurus, and teachers haven't lied. Practice damn sure illuminates both qualities, simultaneously. (I'm stressing the simultaneous part here.) So, what do you do when you start becoming more aware of them? Well, let's just say...you don't welcome the space and openness as joyously as you thought you would, nor do you fill the increased space as joyously as you once did.

Needless to say, seeking a companion becomes that much more confusing.

But here is the transcendent wisdom these chairs taught me last night; Shut up and keep going. Why? Because any ounce of insight into our ability to remain open to life and others is a move in the right direction to finding love. How so? Because openness is our true companion. It is what will not only notice, but allow, the love we all seek to show up and to remain.

Just as a chair continually makes room for its visitors.