Opening the slide door, taking a deep breathe, stepping onto the balcony ... before me is Halifax harbour, i hear the morning traffic sounds. Unfolding my little mat, I feel a little chilly ... I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

Sitting in half-lotus position, I feel the discomfort of stretching legs .. I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

I move to full-lotus, feeling the pain ...I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

Forming a resolution in my mind, I sit in blissfull self-love.Trembling with ecstasy, I can contain it no longer, unconditional love radiates from within, explodes with soft force in all directions, to all creatures in all directions ... I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

My bf comes out, with his coffee and cigarette, I thank him for not smoking inside, we share a morning hug ... I hold him till my whole body feels warm ... I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

Work calls, a minor crisis ... I send my bf to cover for a sick worker, he is glad to get the day's work. I finish his coffee as he gets ready, staring at the water traffic. The coffee is sickly sweet, and luke-warm ... I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

Work calls again, they need the safe opened ... I get changed in a hurry, and drive to my little business. A few crises later, all is well and i decide to sit in a little park on the waterfront. I give my bf a long kiss before leaving, long enough for all the stress to leave me. I sit in the park for an hour or so, long enough to start feeling cold. Putting my hands in my pockets, I realise that my bf's cigarettes are there ... I must have picked them up. I light one, feeling the tobacco smoke rush to my head, a feeling of euphoria and vertigo. I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this.

A scruffy lady approaches, asking for money. We talk for a while, she tells me about her alcohol problem, her failed marriage, her horrible life. She asks for a cigarette, and is quite pleased to get my bf's almost full package, her favourite brand. We share a big hug, and a little kiss. She is half-crying now, and so am I. Sometimes crying can be so liberating. We decide to get some lunch, she eats it with a barely disguised hunger. She tells me of her abusive ex, her health problems, her struggle to live on welfare.

We go to my apartment, the doorman looks at me like I'm insane, but says nothing. We sit on my balcony, sipping wine and relaxing, slowly becoming friends. She tells me all about bottle collecting, I am surprised that it is so competitive. I tell her all about the problems that I face in my business, and how I manage them. We decide to meet every week for lunch, and I give her a bottle of my bf's gin, some hygenic items she was needing, and another hug.

Morning is long gone, and I feel at peace. Who could ask for more? I wait for the sensation to diminish, then pass away. Everything is just like this. —Buddha