This was actually a spirit message I heard one day about 15 years ago, beside a Pine Tree.

Where are you going in such a big hurry? Slow down. Your walk is meant to be a walk, not a trot. Slow down.

How can you hear us when your thoughts are full of your upcoming meeting or the fight you had with your children, the plans you have for the weekend? How can you see us when you use your walk as another chore to complete in your daily schedule? How can you feel our energy when your arms are swinging with such passion, your stride deep, your breathing heavy. Slow down. Slow down.

When you think you are walking slowly enough to begin to notice the life around you, slow down a little more. Let your breath relax, let your body relax. Feel the comfort in the movement and pleasure in the relaxation.

Once you are walking slowly enough to fully feel relaxed, open up your senses to the things around you. Cast a loving thought out to that big tree in the middle of the park. Say "Good morning" to the birds, and mean it. You will find that before long, the birds are saying "Good morning" back and you are feeling the love that the tree sends to you.

So where are you going in such a hurry?

There are no right or wrong ways to do a meditation. The instructions are guidelines; adapt them to who you are and to your needs at that particular time. Be curious about the process itself.

Remember most meditations become richer the more you practice them. They reveal more of themselves. It can take practice to remember to do a meditation when you need to, and it can take practice to go through the steps. But that's why it is called practice, and for most of us, we practice for the rest of our lives.