There are two kinds of meditation practices. The first is the quarry. Are you meditating so you can “get” something out of the practice? Are you extracting what you need, transporting it to a different place, and then using it—forgetting about where it came from? Do you see meditation as something to obtain? When you see meditation as the quarry, you kick yourself for not getting “deep” enough. Thinking like this, only the “best” meditation is good enough for us. You put effort into finding peace.

Contrast this with an orchard. The orchard bears fruit each year, even through the snow and hail. It’s something that grows on its own. The orchard has a wisdom that can’t be reduced to fruit production. It gives shade, purifies the air, and beautifies the space. It’s always growing, even if you can’t see it. The trees in the orchard continually deepen.

Seeing meditation as an orchard, you don’t have to worry about the individual sessions, because fruit will come in the right season. There’s no sense in rushing an orchard. You don’t give up on the trees when there are no cherries in winter. Instead, the work remains invisible until something happens that’s sweet enough for you to sink your teeth into. The fruit will come if you honor the orchard. Slow patience. You can love your racing mind in a session, because you know that in nature’s logic, it’s part of the work. Every session honors the orchard.

Meditation is not about extraction. It’s about doing the work until the work becomes the goal.