Clarity

I'm a big fan of self-help books. Each book has given me a nugget of wisdom (rather than the secret to life, the universe and everything), and the best have stayed with me. Some things I picked up from the books are everyday parts of my life. Some others come back at me in bursts.  One point that has stayed with me for years and years I think can be traced back to one of my very first books of this type, lost in the midst of time. But here it is: Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I can do right now, today, that will make my life better?"

The point is, lost in the clutter of productivity tips and to-do lists, you probably know what is most most important. Cut the crap, and just do it. One thing, maybe one small thing, just do it. You know what it is. For many people, it might be a relationship thing (tell your kid you love her), something hard at work, a financial move. For many years, as I lay on the couch reading diet books and eating bon-bons, I knew it was exercise. That's not my thing right now- I have a base level of fitness, could be improved, but I'm much more fit now than 25 years ago. Right now, for me, it's meditation.

I'm not religious. I'm not spiritual. For me, meditation is a secular, phyisical practice I see leading to some improvements in my life. I'm looking for calmness, and seeing the real world clearly. I think it's giving me pieces of it. Self-delusion and living in my head is what I'm trying to avoid. But my meditation practice has led to more understanding of some aspects of religion, especially prayer.

Here's the record of what I did last week.

My meditation goals are modest and incremental, as I test and see if I can achieve them. I've been doing five minutes of unguided meditation at work most days. I have a private office, I can carve out enough time to close the door, set the timer, and sit for five minutes. I focus on the breath, and keep going back to the breath as my mind races ahead to what comes next, what I should have done in the morning, and my family responsibilities. I just note those thoughts - most often plans, rehearsing in my mind the moves to make next, and return to the breath, right now, the way it is. The calming at that moment is really helpful, and I think it spills over to other parts of the day. Because of the meditation, I sometimes can also see what is the other "one thing" I need to do, right then. This is enough to keep me coming back to the meditation.

As usually happens, I am evangelizing a bit. I worry, constantly, about my girl. I gave her my meditation app, which she has downloaded. I'm after her about starting. I'm hoping it will help.