A long-distance relationship reminds me of my meditation practice.

There is a preferred fixed time to communicate. You start feeling the benefits when you sit to connect to your beloved at that fixed time. For when the hour to connect comes closer, you start feeling restless. Your face experiences random bursts of smile. Your heart starts feeling joy.

Congratulations! You are pulling a Pavlov!

Of course, it all began with experimenting. You tried some other time. And then there it was – the frustration and lots of distraction. You find yourself swimming against the tide. But when you both find your own sweet time; it is no less than magic. Just the two of you in that moment. For the other moments, there is constant remembrance.

What follows then is the moment of connection. There are all kinds of experiences –

Type 1: It is fulfilling. Never a dull moment. You simply dive deep down, and bingo! What an hour! Wow!

Type 2: You start slowly, and steadily, a little bit struggling in the beginning and then you open. There is a connection. You get your answers. You feel lighter. You feel grateful. You feel back on track.

Type 3: Nothing. Just frustrating small talk. Small thoughts. Uninvited. You want to stick it through! This is important to you, even if it feels like you’ve achieved nothing. At the end of it when you still feel restless; you hope that tomorrow, will be different.

Type 4: Lack of time! You want to pack up everything is one short go. And at the end of it, you keep wondering, did we even connect?

Type 5: You take help. You find new ways to keep the connection exciting. To keep it going.

On some days, there is a constant chatter in the mind – What is the point of this? Is this even real? Is this all a dream? Am I the only one feeling this? Do others feel this too? Am I doing it right? Is there a right way? Am I crazy?

To ease this, I go back to my feeling. What did the connection feel like? Just going back to the feeling, my heart does some crazy summersaults. And it is in that state of feeling, I find moments of Reality.

Some days it feels like a chore. You reason with yourself – I can connect some other time. This isn’t going anywhere. I have plenty of time. A lifetime to connect. I have other important things to do, to achieve. I am busy. I have time constraints. I feel the same. It’s boring.

And it is in these moments that one tends to forget, that the Beloved on the other side is patiently and lovingly waiting for you to connect. Every day, the Beloved waits for you. Even the effort of sitting, and the intention to connect matters to the Beloved.

The distance increases the fondness of the heart. For it is in the pain of distance you strive to come close. You strive to come together. You strive to become one. And when that happens, you have finally Mastered.

Is there something beyond?