Focus,
Let it be,
And come back.
These are the only steps you need to meditate.
Like walking up to the mouth of the ocean and watching the waves wash onto the shore and go back over and over and over again.
We have misconceptions that when we meditate,
We must become consumed by the stillness,
By the quiet and otherworldly.
But this is not what I have found to be true.
Only glimpses of this euphoric tranquility do I experience,
Like the thinnest sliver of the moon fading into the sunrise,
Knowing it is there but no longer able to see it.
It is these fleeting moments that pull me back into my meditation practice day after day,
Giving me the respite I long for,
That my mind begs for,
Where I become consumed by the vastness of me and all I am connected to.
But most of the time,
I must be honest,
As I sit on my yoga block,
Legs crossed,
Eyes gently shut,
I am focusing,
I am letting it be.
And then day after day,
I am coming back diligently over and over and over again.
I focus on the static noise that silence brings.
And then my mind distracts me with to do's and songs and stories and replays and worries.
When I catch this happening,
I let it be by coming back to the static sound of the quiet,
Which ironically can be very loud if you focus on it enough.
And then if I can stay here with my focus,
I get to witness that sliver of the moon.
I link up with something great,
So great that the challenge of meditation becomes worth every ounce of effort.
Through this continuous practice,
The tight grip your mind has had on you for years begins to loosen,
Not because it is any less loud,
But because you are developing an awareness that is clever enough to know that you are not your mind.
And throughout your days,
This awareness will begin to run parallel alongside your thoughts,
Bringing you ease and clarity outside of your meditation practice and into your real life.
And imagine,
Just for a minute,
Imagine a life where you are no longer swallowed by the tidal waves of your thoughts,
Where you have the ability to step back when they've washed up to your shore,
And you meet them with awareness.
Instead of getting ripped into the unforgiving current,
Your feet remain grounded firmly on the warm sand as you watch.
What might your life look like then?
And if you have become curious enough to try this practice we call meditation,
Can you be courageous enough to try it now by focusing on a sound or a sensation or your breath,
Choosing one thing and staying there a while,
Letting it be when distractions arise and any type of judgment that follows,
Not trying to mute the mind,
But rather taking a few steps back to your point of focus,
And then coming back to this practice tomorrow,
And the day after that,
Over and over and over and over again.
