Returning to work today makes it feel like Monday again, so I’m all sorts of messed up, trying to find bearings at the start of the year. Beginning anything on a Wednesday seems ill-advised, so to start the year mid-week leaves me feeling off-balance. (Being honest, there wasn’t much balance with which to begin.) And so let us have some meditative music, as I’ve happily returned to my daily meditation practice.
January is always the time for a renewed meditation focus, and a reminder to be mindful. Much to mind, much to mind… and the outside world swirls, the wind whipping through the dried grasses, shaking off any remaining rain from yesterday.
Finding purpose in little tasks and focusing on each step is the easiest way to clear the mind. So much of our worry and stress comes from allowing our brains to overthink and dwell and perseverate on things over which we have no control, things that may never come to pass, yet they become all we think about because we don’t focus on the moment at hand. This is a very basic tenet of being mindful, and often the most difficult. We don’t want to slow down and get granular with our days – we’d rather rush through to the weekend or the end of the work day. When you are able to find the joy in the moment, life can suddenly open up in ways that make winter more than a burden. We are only the second day into the year – why the hurry?
