Ok, not sure if it belongs here or if it's really all that funny to anyone else, but here we go. Sometime mid-afternoon in the third day of a 10-day Goenka retreat (where I had a really rough time), I had gone hunting for some more cushions to reinforce my meditation fort and noticed a bed for a cat or a small dog in the small remaining pile of so far rejected options. The Marshall's sticker for $12.99 still attached.

I just had this image of some guy, freaking out the day before he was leaving for his first retreat and realized he wanted to bring a cushion. The image in my head of him sitting in this tiny pet bed trying to meditate was just all too much. A mental image of him cleaning himself like a cat entered my mind. An audible chuckle escaped my mouth as I entered the hall, and it kept me in good spirts the rest of the day.

I kept a close eye on the pet bed for the next few days, it disappeared for one evening group sitting but was promptly returned at the end.

It never left the pile again.

I had a good laugh. Thanks! 

It made me smile. 

That's great! 

Humour softens things up for sure. 

Ha!

There's an Eckhart Tolle (I know, I know) quote that comes to mind: “I have lived with many Zen masters, all of them cats.”

Maybe this guy was onto something...

When I took part in an online retreat from home, one of my cats placed herself on my cushion during a break. I adjusted the laptop camera so she was centered in the video konfrence image. There were many hearty laughs.