This is officially “Blue Monday” – the most depressing day of the year (according to one British psychologist). Sure, in part, you can blame it on the weather, but apparently it’s also because all the holiday bills are coming in and most people’s New Year’s resolutions have already been broken. Ugh. I can see why anyone might be depressed…but I’m not!
Yes, my bills are coming in and I’ve been restricting my purchases mainly to groceries until I can pay them. And no doubt, the weather’s getting to me too. However as for those New Year’s resolutions, I don’t demand perfection – and don’t easily give up trying to to reach my goals. You’ve got to give yourself a little wiggle room.
One of my goals, as oovy-groovy as it may sound, is to learn how to meditate. Why? I really do believe that with all of life’s distractions today (the electronic bombardment of constant information) just being quiet and still is a skill our entire society is losing.
So how do I meditate? I don’t sit cross-legged and say “ohm” though I’m sure that is something that would work well. For me, just sitting in a chair and breathing slow and steady is the best way to get into meditation. As for that annoying “mental chatter”, I’ve started imagining a paintbrush whitewashing a wall…wiping away anything that creeps into my thoughts. It works far better than just focusing on my breath or imagining a blue light and all those other suggestions I’ve gotten.
While research shows meditation can help your physical and mental health, it does something more basic than that for me. It slows me down. I’ve been accused of bombing through life like I’m trying to win a downhill ski race…adrenal glands wide open. As I’ve gotten older, it’s been hard to keep up that pace but apparently I still try.
Because of health scares that my friends and family have faced, I’ve been reminded recently that it’s critical to enjoy where I am right now – the present. However, knowing that and knowing how to do that are two different things. Meditating for just 20 minutes whenever I can slows me down just enough to get the ‘gist’ of that idea…my goal is finally to achieve that…by the end of 2011.
