“For instance, there is no light without darkness—and this troubles many of us—but without it, how else would we tell one from the other? We spend half of every day in darkness; surely we should make our peace with this.” ~ Mark Frost
Clocking in at a precise 29 minutes, my daily meditations (and Virgo-like tracking of them) will expand to half an hour come March 1, a good plane on which to keep them for a while. It’s my own little system of what works thus far in this meditation journey, and it’s nice to see how neatly they have become part of my daily routine, as natural and easy as taking a shower (even in COVID times).
Meditation has proven to be quite a benefit in my life, something I’d hoped for but didn’t always trust to come to fruition, possibly because it sounded too good to be true, and possibly because I wasn’t sure I’d have the patience to sustain it to the point where I’d see a difference. Luckily, I stuck with it, and the differences have been gradual but profound. The older I get, the quicker time seems to pass, and so I can observe the past year and the gentle changes this meditation journey has produced, starting with an overall sense of calm and serenity. That’s not always easy to gauge or notice when it’s happening in such small increments; revisiting the past year of daily meditation allows me to see such changes on a broader scale, and they have been remarkable.
Honestly, I don’t think I realized how big an influence such a practice was having on me, but when I pause to consider what we’ve all been through in the past year, it’s certainly something to consider how relatively calmly I walked through it. (I wasn’t always so serene or accepting of such things.) That I did it all without any other crutches like alcohol or distracting entertainment like travel is a testament to the power of meditation. It’s not something that became clear until I started to look back.
It’s strange and wonderful the way the world works – or the universe or God or whatever entity that you believe fuels and guides us on our way – how the state of mindfulness, and being present in the moment, doesn’t reveal its full grace until patience and acceptance come into genuine existence. Wonderful because the work of mindfulness is immediately and at once a state of grace, while over time it transforms some lives into a greater state of grace. It feels like my mind is on the cusp of something, and that might mean what I’m saying isn’t completely clear or making much sense. I’ll work to refine that. For now, the call of meditation is precisely what was needed at this time, and I’m grateful to have that practice at hand.
Back to Blog
