Sometimes a morning will get away from me. Does that ever happen to you?
Things get crazy. The 4 dogs need to be fed; I pack a lunch for my grandson; then one of the dogs gets out of the fence, so I need to go chase her; the outfit I was planning to wear needs to be ironed (tick, tick, tick goes the clock); I get a shower but now my hair won’t do what I want it to do. Then I realized that I promised to write an article for the newspaper, so I sit down right then to do it, so I don’t forget.
When I finally get ready, I dash out the door, start my car and take a deep breath. Rats, I didn’t get a chance to meditate. It makes a difference.
Generally, I guard my meditation time pretty closely. I know that when I meditate, my day goes smoother. It’s as simple as that.
A couple of weeks ago, I had grandma duty with three of my grandchildren for a week. The cousins love to be together and combining all that energy can get crazy like combining lighter fluid and a match, so I knew I needed to plan very carefully to make sure that we would have fun and I maintain my inner calm.
Plenty of research as well as my personal experience indicates that the brain actually changes when you establish a regular meditation practice. The fear/anxiety center calms down and the decision-making center gets stronger and less reactive. Empathy and compassion increase and the ability to see things from a more objective viewpoint is more enhanced. You are less likely to take things personally or to engage in an “us against them” mentality.
SO, I arranged for the kids to start each day with my Tai Chi instructor in his Kung Fu camp, teaching them self control and deep breathing and exercise in a fun way. My inner calm is so important to everyone in my life that I was even willing to pay to make sure I got it! That way I could use that time for my own meditation while equipping the kids to start their day well; consequently each day started off on the right foot and the week was enjoyable with much less stress than there could have been…even when we encountered a bear on our hike!
Having said that, today was one of those crazy mornings that we each have from time to time. I didn’t get a chance to sit down and meditate until I got to the office. Running out the door, I slipped on my red high heels. Red heels remind me of that old Enjoli perfume commercial that says, “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never let you forget you’re a man…Enjoli.” To many women over the years, red heels have represented success, wealth, personal power, and confidence. Those things are that we aspire to. Which is great. But it’s not enough.
Just like you, I wear many hats. I am a therapist and coach, a business woman, a wife, mother and grandma. I am on several boards, write for various publications, author books and supervise other therapists. I travel to developing countries teaching trauma healing and just generally enjoy life.
The most important thing that I teach my clients is that you already have those things you aspire to inside of you. Whether or not they are manifesting in your outer world depends on you.
That’s where the power of meditation comes in. Taking a few minutes every day to connect with the Source of life, to be still and listen to the wisdom that surrounds you and dwells in you, plugs you into the creativity and resourcefulness that is already there. It helps you make better decisions, use your time more wisely, learn to respond to stressors instead of react and leads you into an overall healthier, more abundant life.
So I plopped myself down in a chair, when I arrived at the office, closed the door, propped my feet up on my desk and enjoyed 30 minutes of silence to start my day properly.
It’s like having a beautiful coffee machine sitting on your counter that is capable of making the best coffee in the world. You won’t get a drop out of it until you plug it in.
Which is an important point, because I love coffee almost as much as I love meditation! It also helps me function efficiently.
And just as Glinda, the good witch of the North, points out to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, referring to her sparkly red high heels, “You’ve always had the power my dear; you just needed to find it for yourself.”
If you need more help starting your own meditation practice, check out my new book, Un-Leashed: Practical Steps to Get your Life Unstuck.