This is a hard admission to make. After all I wrote a book about how meditation saved my job, changed my life and helped me find a husband. I've written columns and blogs about the countless benefits meditation brings. Meditation was a solid part of my life, like clockwork every morning. Even during the times when I was so busy I could only grant this life changing practice ten minutes at the most. So why did I stop?
Meditation is like a seedling. We plant it, nurture it and protect it from the things that want to destroy it like pests, bugs and disease. We take care of it and it grows. The roots anchor themselves into the soil. The stems grow stronger. The leaves reach for the sky. Our plant thrives. Meditation needs the same kind of tending. If we don't nurture it, it will wither. The pests and bugs of other people's needs and opinions will eat away at it. The crush of time poverty, the carelessness of "if I just skip a couple of days it won't matter" will destroy it. In time all that's left is a small indentation in the dry soil where our beautiful plant used to be.
I grew careless. Took it for granted. I was feeling great so what did it matter if I didn't meditate for a couple of days. I thought the plant would stay healthy without me having to do anything. After all it was strong and I'd been taking care of it for years, surely I was entitled to a bit of a break. Days without meditating turned into weeks. It got to the stage where I'd almost forgotten about it. My morning routine changed and meditation was no longer a part of it.
I can't remember when I stopped hearing the words "You are beautiful. You are loved." These words came to me during a meditation retreat and stayed with me on a daily basis. They were a blessing; the first thing that came into my mind on waking, the last thought before I slept at night. Until I stopped meditating. That's when the negative self talk returned. The aches and pains of life manifested in my body. Everything hurt and I was exhausted every day. I dragged myself to work and collapsed on the couch when I got home. Everything else fell away.
One day I woke up and my first thought was "I wish I was dead." It shocked me out of my complacency. I wished I was dead because I was so tired I couldn't cope with life, work, other people. I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to rest.
That morning I walked past the spot where I used to meditate. Without thinking I settled myself down, crossed my legs and began to meditate. Back into the easy rhythm of observing my breath, observing my thoughts and letting them go. As I relaxed into something that used to be a familiar to me as smiling, I realized that here was my place of rest, here was my place of solitude. Meditation gave me exactly what I'd been craving so desperately; a place of nurturing, away from the clamors and demands of the world. A safe place to rest and come back to myself. In the silence I heard those words returning to me. "You are beautiful. You are loved."
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.