meditation and mosquitoes (and other distractions)

so i was at my spot by the creek trying to clear my mind to meditate and pray, but apparently the mosquitos are back in force. add to the season a body of water and shade, and you have an airforce of unrelenting bloodthirsty, malevolent, miniature demons. i stayed for a while swatting them when i could, but that wasn't conducive for the state of mind i was trying to procure. inspired by buddha's ascetic time, when he would meditate on thorns, or allow children to light a fire under him, i tried just sitting motionless as the little bastards took their fill of my bodily fluids. but alas, i couldn't take it, and i killed a good half dozen more when i opened my eyes. on top of all of this distraction, the little poop colored chiuaua i mentioned a couple blogs ago came running down from the trail with his owner in tow. now mind you, this spot is not visible from the trail, so the likelyhood of this encounter was pretty slim. but here he is again, running around in the water in front of me, interrupting my time. i commented to the owner, "so we meet again." i think it may have come off a bit like james bond when he encouters his archrival for the second time in the movie after barely escaping death during their first meeting. the kid (teenager), after all, was a bit defensive. "he's gotta have his water." the boy says. i watched them until they left, then tried again. all during this time there had been a woodpecker hammering away at a nearby tree. after a few more minutes of distraction, i decided to get up and leave.

all in all though, it was actually a very good reminder that the purpose for prayer and meditation is not to escape the world, but rather to come out engaging it more fully.