My zazen this morning wasn’t good. I didn’t sleep well, some strange, work-related nightmares haunted me all night. When I sat on the cushion I couldn’t stop the torrent of thoughts flooding my brain. I was upset my meditation is bad.

And then it occurred to me that my thinking about my meditation reflects my overall state of mind, it’s not an objective measure or judgment, it’s just another drop in the torrent of thoughts.

My mind is not my thoughts. My zazen is not my assessment of my zazen.