---
title: "The Thermos Was Empty | The 4th Tarot Chronicles"
url: https://4thtarot.com/blog/the-thermos-was-empty
description: "A late arrival, a cold room, ninety minutes ahead. The bell, the hall, two birds in a tree."
lang: en
---

By Tara Grace

# The Thermos Was Empty

May 10, 2026

meditation (https://4thtarot.com/blog/tag/meditation)śūnyatā contemplative practice chronicle

The room was cold. The kitchen was cold. I was too slow.

The retreat center was in the mountains. The sit was ninety minutes — a duration I knew and did not look forward to. I had been late. Late to the hall.

I breathed. The machine kept its books. I breathed. Minute nine: the email I had not sent. Minute twenty-two: the face I had made. Minute forty: whether they had noticed the face. I breathed. The grievances were very organized. Very thorough. I breathed. The bell.

The hall was full of people putting on shoes. Someone said something and someone else laughed. I noticed I did not need to respond to it. Not as a decision. Just as a fact.

She got up. Her knees hurt. She found a thermos that wasn't empty and poured a cup and went outside.

Two birds were arguing in a tree. They stopped. They had been arguing before she got there.

— Tara Grace

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- Self: https://4thtarot.com/glossary/self

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