Exploring some less common effects of a well-known practice
“Sitting in purposeful silence is food for your heart and soul.” — Jen Sincero
While a lot of things about meditation become noticeable almost immediately, like how much calmer and more relaxed you feel after only a few minutes, there are many more benefits of meditation that are a bit more subtle.
Some of these may take months or years to notice because they require a deeper sense of connection and openness that may not be available to you when first starting your practice.
Most of us don’t have profound insights or realizations after sitting down to meditate once or twice, because learning and making connections requires experience, practice, and focus. …
Do something each day purely for the fun of it
Remember fun?
No? I don’t blame you.
After all, once we reach adulthood, there is nothing telling us to relax more, or to play more. No one is telling us to just go and have some fun.
Instead, all signs point to working longer, doing “more,” achieving great heights, and pushing ourselves harder.
The older we get, the more responsibilities we tend to tack on, and there becomes more and more to “handle” on a daily basis. …
All the best writers are doing it
It’s been said that the best writers are those who bleed on the page.
It sounds morbid and scary, and for a long time, I had no idea what it meant.
Until pretty much today, I thought it simply meant pouring your heart and soul into your writing and describing things in as much detail as possible. I thought it meant writing about your experiences as honestly and openly as you could, reporting the truth of what you see and feel and believe to the best of your ability.
And I think on some level, it means that. Those are all components of great writing, but there’s also a lot more to it than that. …
It’s also messy, and that’s okay.
To ring in the New Year this year, I did something I’ve never done before.
For two days, I sat with a group of women in a meditation retreat online.
These women, like me, wanted freedom.
I went into this retreat wanting to be free of many things, like my busy, overthinking mind and lack of presence, the constant stress and worry that plagued me in 2020, the never-ending mountains of negativity I kept getting trapped under, my quickly-fading hope for a bright future, and my lack of belief that things can change.
I wanted to stop viewing my current “reality” as all there will ever be. …
Honest reflection is the key
I just spent the better part of 10 days at home, doing very little.
But sometimes, doing very little leads to realizing a whole lot.
Christmas was different this year for a lot of people.
Ours was much different than normal too. Aaron and I stayed home, made ourselves our first Christmas dinner in our now 99% complete kitchen (it’s been in a state of renovation for months), and watched Christmas movies in our pyjamas while enjoying a nice winter stout in our fancy beer glasses. …
Focus on building one habit at a time
“The best way to change your life is by not changing your entire life.” — James Clear
Most of us have a problem with going slowly.
The thought of something taking years to build, like a writing career or a successful business or a nest egg in the bank, makes us crazy.
We want everything to happen right now, right away.
We already know that’s not how it works, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting it.
It’s the same with our habits and our health.
We want to be in shape, drinking enough water, exercising regularly, and eating right right now — not in a year from now. …
I wondered how long it would take
When the world went into lockdown in March, I honestly wasn’t too upset about it.
It was strange, sure, but I wasn’t losing my mind, wondering how I was going to cope. I also wasn’t rushing out to the store to stockpile on you know what.
The news of this fast-spreading and potentially deadly virus was a bit unnerving, but I figured it wouldn’t last too long.
Obviously, I was naïve — or maybe just hopeful. I’m not sure which.
I did have one saving grace, though.
It turns out that for the past few years, I’ve been practicing for this; I just didn’t know it. …
Settle into impermanence and enjoy life more
“You do not suffer because things are impermanent. You suffer because things are impermanent and you think they are permanent.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
I looked out my window a few minutes ago, and just a few tiny snowflakes were gently falling to the ground.
They were so small that they were barely even noticeable. I really had to look closely to see them in the first place. I stood there for a few moments, looking around at the houses, cars, and people below.
I walked to my couch, sat down, and ate a snack of peanut butter on toast with cut-up pieces of banana. …
If goals are your main motivation, it may be time to think about your writing differently
“There are many reasons to write. And most of them are bad.” — Tim Denning
Everyone has different reasons for writing.
Some of us write because it’s our job to put words on the page and send them off to our clients. Some of us write because it brings us joy or relieves stress. And still, others write because they are compelled to — they simply can’t help it.
I write because there’s a little voice inside that tells me to. It runs through my head daily, and whispers to me in the dark.
But that doesn’t mean I’ve always listened to it. …
The tough ones are often the best ones
We barely slept that night.
Waking up at some ridiculous hour, maybe 2 or 3 a.m., I stumbled into my clothes still half asleep and began rounding up the last few items to stuff into my suitcase.
Dad greeted me in the kitchen, surprisingly chipper for being awake at such an odd time.
“All ready for your next big adventure?” he asked, smiling.
I nodded, wondering what the tight feeling I’d just noticed in my stomach reflected. Fear? Excitement? Nervousness? Lack of sleep?
I settled on a combination of all four as I zipped the bulging suitcase shut and brought it to the door, adding it to the pile of my belongings. …
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