This is a meditation for the perfectionists and the overachievers.
This meditation is for you if you have forgotten that you are not your work.
You are not your work,
Dear friend.
You are not your accomplishments.
When you are lost in the frenzied space of deadlines and to-do lists,
I want you to remember that what may feel urgent and most important may actually be the things that will have the least significance in a month,
A year,
Or a decade.
Do not be blindsided by deadlines,
By the fear of making mistakes.
Do not believe the voice that relentlessly tells you that you are not enough,
That you are too slow or behind.
Remember that a deadline is not a dead line.
Your life is not at stake.
Deadlines are arbitrary dates in a human-made calendar.
When you are mired in the never-ending lists of tasks,
Remember that under the frantic doing and achieving there is you.
The you who doesn't need to do anything to exist.
The you whose inhale and exhale are connected to the entire universe.
There is another timeline,
A slower one,
A timeless one.
It is found in the effortless rhythm of nature.
Flowers do not have deadlines.
They bloom when they bloom.
Let yourself relax in the pulse of nature.
Let the waning and waxing of the moon gently rock you between its darkness and brightness.
Notice the transparent morning dew and the flowers closing at dusk.
This is what matters.
Do not let yourself fool by the urgency of work.
You will serve the world better when you make the time to regularly connect with the rhythm of nature,
When you allow yourself to pause and catch your breath.
When you allow yourself to notice the pale sunlight stretching on the windowsill.
When you allow yourself to receive the warmth of a cat curled up against you and to receive the comforting taste of jasmine tea on your tongue.
This is where the work is.
To unravel all the conditioning you've been through and the belief that you need to do more.
What if you actually needed to do less?
What if doing more was actually detrimental to you,
Your work,
Your family,
Society and our planet?
So think about it.
What is one less thing you could do today?
How can you lighten your load?
How can you diminish self-imposed pressure to accomplish so much?
How can you spend this time feeling and being instead?
Remember,
You are not your work or your accomplishment.
You are not your work.
