The LuPaMa River Meditation

The LuPaMa River is a short biweekly meditation in memory of my son Luc (1987-2022, Z'L). Its story began when Luc and Matthieu, then aged 5 and 6, joined me to explore a cave in the Pyrenees, a trip intended to share my interest in caving that ended up awakening their adventurous spirit and scaring me to death.

As we were leaving, Luc asked how the caves had formed. I explained that rain had dissolved the rocks over centuries, creating underground rivers that became caves. Luc, excited, wondered if we were the first discoverers and named the dry river, now a cave, “LuPaMa,” short for Luc, PaPa, Mattheu. I was moved; it was incredible to feel myself among my two children.

This “meditative reading” invites us to reflect on what we read and to formulate practical advice for everyday life. The approach can also be applied to other types of texts. Each meditation usually concludes with a section entitled “How?”, which suggests practical behaviors drawn from the reading.