Baby Hannah is 10-weeks-old! William is almost 3-years-old, and loving being a big brother. We enjoyed the family cocoon we created over the holidays, but then it was time for Maria and me to return to work. Life is busy and it’s easy to get caught up in the daily minutia, but we want to do better. We want to push into community with love and strength to forge deep and vibrant connections. We hope dhamma can help us find the path.

We started a virtual weekly group sitting in August to help manifest a dhamma community for our growing family. It started as a group to introduce the graduated high school students from my classes that learned Anapana meditation to our Vipassana friends. As the students lost interest, we continued to enjoy connecting with dhamma friends on a weekly basis. Recently we’ve enjoyed welcoming more Delaware meditators as we all recharge our dhamma batteries and connect with a like-minded community.

The format of our sittings is simple: we sit silently for 30 minutes, then chat for 30 minutes. We get a chance to reinforce our daily practice while growing the community that’s supporting our efforts to grow a dhamma family. Sometimes baby Hannah is crying or William needs some attention. Sometimes Hanna is resting in our arms while we sit. We are welcoming these obstacles as part of the experience, and appreciate this group for welcoming these experiences with us. It’s not clear how this group will evolve or how long it will continue, but it’s wonderful to have a weekly opportunity to connect with Vipassana and a community that believes Vipassana and family can coexist.