This week,
I'd like to share with you a bit of a story and something that happened that I think will blend well into the idea of taking a seat for meditation.
And so not so long ago,
I was meeting up with someone to carpool to an event.
And through a series of events that they had to move through,
It ended up being a later arrival than intended.
And I spent a lot of time watching the clock tick and wishing time to pass so that we could come together and move on to the next event.
So I was anticipating being at this next place.
I was frustrated by events out of either of our control and wasn't being very mindful about the experience in the least.
At a minimum,
Know that I am human and these things pop up.
Now about halfway into the journey to our final destination,
I was noodling on this and thinking about it and chewing on it as I often do and reflecting and realized that what I had bypassed was an opportunity.
And again,
Being human was a reflection and something I've been carrying forward with me.
And so what I offer you today is that there are instances,
Perhaps daily,
Maybe even several times a day where you find yourself waiting at a light or waiting for the elevator or waiting for your train to arrive,
Standing in a line,
Sitting in traffic,
Waiting for a colleague to show up,
Waiting for the conference call to start,
Waiting for your spouse to finish X,
Y,
And Z.
Lots of opportunities to wait,
Which in fact,
If framed in the right way,
Are lots of opportunities to pause and to allow room to breathe.
So perhaps,
And I'm not saying this works the first time,
I spent lots of time in my car being frustrated,
But in reflection,
Perhaps I offer you that when you can't change the situation or the scenario,
You can choose your reaction to it and perhaps choose to respond instead of react.
Something I told myself,
And then I share with you,
Because if I keep repeating it,
It will sink in for myself.
Instead of being frustrated by quote unquote having to wait,
Can you allow it to be room to breathe?
Time to pause and either make a note,
Sit and breathe,
Do a mantra meditation,
Call a friend and catch up with them,
Just take some time in silence.
If there's something that you feel like you need to do,
You could fill that space in or you could allow it to be space and room to breathe.
And something that I feel as if we don't have nearly enough of.
And so the room to breathe might be my new second favorite description of meditation.
I'll always reference taking the seat.
It's a nod to many teachers before me.
And as you take some time here to sit with me in the seat,
Can you carve out room to breathe?
Starting as we often do,
Finding the base of the feet or the base of the spine or the legs meet the chair,
The cushion,
The floor,
Wherever you might be.
Finding the periphery to become fuzzy.
Beginning to turn the gaze a bit more inward.
Whether you're standing or sitting,
Beginning to fill that space with your breath.
And after you find a few rounds of your breath,
Being very mindful about the pace,
Perhaps noticing the sound or the sensation.
Carving out room to breathe.
Your awareness gently holding the breath as it moves in and out of this space.
Taking some time for yourself to pause,
To breathe,
And to be.
Too late.
.
.
.
.
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