I will be the first to admit that in the past I have had an on again off again relationship with meditation. It’s not that I didn’t think it was a good idea (it is) or that I didn’t see the calm gracefulness of people I knew who were long-time meditaters (I did). I just had a really hard time keeping up with it.
The excuses were many: I have to get up earlier, I forget later in the day, my body gets uncomfortable, I have a hard time focusing, my life is my prayer.
The thing for many years that I forgot was “so what?” The answer to every excuse is “so what?” You have to get up earlier, so do it. You forget later in the day, make a reminder on your calendar. You get uncomfortable, gently shift positions. Focusing is hard, keep practicing. Your life is your prayer, that’s good, so is silence.
I have been honing my ability to get up, ready, and out the door to wherever I needed to be as efficiently and with the latest wake up time possible since 7th grade. Mornings have never been my ‘thing’, so the thought of getting up earlier to meditate, and that I would actually be awake has been quite a barrier to climb.
But one day, after plenty of years of missteps I got serious. I started getting up 5 minutes earlier. I read the Daily Word then set my timer for 5 minutes. This would ensure that if I did fall back asleep I wouldn’t be late for work or school. 5 minutes, really not that hard. Then I upped it, bit by bit until 15 or 20 wasn’t that big a deal. The neat thing is just as I slowly upped the time, my ability to sit comfortably for that amount of time increased too. As did my ability to usually have some space between the thoughts. WOW! The miracle of Meditation!
Today, while being quite efficient with the tasks of the day, I was feeling some unease in my heart as my mind would come back around to the difficulties some of my loved ones are experiencing and other various worries. Then after a while it occurred to me to take a meditation pause. It is pretty nifty that it’s part of my job to pray. I have been working on shifting the back office into the prayer chapel/library, so that’s where I headed. As soon as I sat down I started to feel more peaceful. 10 minutes later I feel like a new person. It’s really that simple.
For those of you reading this who have had many excuses, believe me, I know, that’s why I share my own journey. My reply is JUST DO IT!
If your thoughts are running a mile a minute, it’s ok, let them float by. Bring yourself back to your breath. Meditation is about letting there be space between the thoughts. The spaces will grow with practice.
If you are wanting some guidance to get started, there are plenty of resources out there.
- Silent Unity has many guided meditations you can listen to as well as video meditations.
- Calm.com has 2-20 minute guided meditations as well as background music/effects and pictures you can choose from. They also have an app.
- I use the “Insight Timer” app on my phone to time my meditations.
Just begin. Even 2 minutes a day. You do have the time. It’s not a destination, it’s a journey, it’s time to begin!
With love and joy,
Rev. Rachel
