Meditation

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love having my family here. We all get along really well and it’s wonderful to watch Mumsie literally basking in the glow of being surrounded by her whole family.

But life is busy and chaotic with a houseful of people. Our days are filled with “what shall we do today?” or “let’s meet up with xxx” or “let’s go to the mall (or the park or wherever).” Then there are our conversations – we’re a family of chatterers and we ALL like to debate endlessly and share our opinions ad nauseam. Fortunately, Hubby is not only able to take all this in his stride, but he can also match us without any trouble.

But all this can get exhausting. Sometimes the noise and chaos gets to be too much, especially for Mumsie. But if she’s had enough, she just turns off her hearing aid and sits smiling beatifically while the rest of us continue with our noise-making! There are times when I wish I could do that – just switch off and enjoy some peace and quiet.

Yesterday, it suddenly all got to be too much for me – all the noise and the banter and the living on top of each other gave me a headache and turned me into a grouch. Rather than inflict myself on my family, I decided to hide in my bedroom and catch up on some reading. I’m halfway through “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert and yesterday I came to the part on meditating. That got me thinking about how long it’s been since I’d meditated.

I used to meditate every day without fail – and I really enjoyed the feeling of calm and peace that descended upon me once I’d let go of all my frustrations. But for some reason I stopped meditating a few years ago and just didn’t get around to resuming my practice.

“Today’s as good a day as any to start again,” I thought – and that’s what I did. I shut the door, unfurled my mat and sat on it, ensuring that I was in a comfortable position. Then I closed my eyes and proceeded to focus on my breathing. At first, it was hard not to get distracted by all the noise outside – my family chatting, a dog barking, the honking of car horns in the distance. But after a while, I found myself focusing only on my breathing – in, out, in, out – and not long after, I automatically began chanting my mantra in my head….

When I emerged from my bedroom some time later, I was a completely different person. All the irritation and frustration had left me, and I felt more energized and yet calmer and more at peace than I had in ages.

Earlier this year, I made a conscious effort to start improving my physical health. Now I realize that it’s time to also focus on my emotional and spiritual health. So I’ve promised myself that, from now on, no matter how busy I am, I’m going to carve out some time every day to meditate.

[tags]eat pray love, Elizabeth Gilbert, breathing, meditation, healing, quiet and peace[/tags]