My 10-Day Vipassana Adventure (A Comedy in Stillness)
I first heard about Vipassana from a friend in my running group. Naturally, I was intrigued—meditation that’s supposed to be life-changing? Sign me up! But also… don’t. I wasn’t sure I was ready for something that transformative. So I did what any rational person would: procrastinated and made up excuses—“No time,” “Family won’t approve,” “Ten days is a long time to sit still without snacks.” You know, the usual. But as my retirement loomed large and I stared into the wide, unstructured ocean of free time stretching ahead of me, I realized I needed something solid to anchor myself. Spiritually inclined and now finally out of excuses, I convinced myself—and more importantly, my family—that this was the perfect time to do the 10-day Vipassana course. Surprisingly, it’s not easy to get in. They actually spoke to me 2-3 times before I was “approved.” Clearly, I didn’t sound zen enough. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but the idea of being completely disconnected from the world for 1...