Through the Trees

You are expecting bells and whistles on your journey.  You want to have apparitions and great experiences when you sit to meditate.  When these things fail to happen you are disappointed, looking for the big events, which are actually small things.  You are missing the big picture, which includes the small things.  As a result of your meditative practice, do you notice how your patience grows, and your intuition increases, and your stress goes down?  These gifts may appear to you so subtly that you fail to notice.  Add them together and compare them with your past behavior, and lo!  There is your miracle!  There is your “big thing.”  “Do not lose the forest through the trees” is a wise statement.  Enjoy the entire journey, the big and small events—most especially the latter, for every moment counts.