Walking meditation: the bouncy feel under your feet, the clean smell of fresh-cut grass, an unexpected heart etched in moss
Oh, your wild mind. So much brilliance, capable of creative ideas that no one else has thought of, amazing at making connections between unrelated things to come up with something new. And yet, its wildness—its biggest strength—can also be what keeps you from moving forward in your life. It makes connections with your past and reminds you of what happened when you tried something new (hey, remember you failed at that already?), when you do something that’s a little out of character (what will your mom/boss/best friend think?), when you trigger fear (where will you get the money?).
One of my commitments this year was to have a consistent meditation practice.
“When you spend time watching the mind, you notice the familiar medleys and you notice what is noticing the medleys—the stillness that is apart from them. After a while, the stillness feels more like you…You begin to love that which is not caught up in the hysteria. Love the stillness. Love the spaciousness. Love the peace…The value of meditation is that it helps you discover—and then bring yourself back to—what you love.”—Geneen Roth, Women, Food and God
If you’re expecting giant transformation, a big glowing ball of calm residing in your heart that never goes away, it’s not about that. Like most changes, it’s incremental. A consistent practice allows you to notice when you’re being driven by fear. You can choose to either listen or take it under consideration and decide the opposite. It forces you to filter the noise. It asks you to stop, be in the moment and just be with you.
My meditation tools have been high tech. I have the Headspace app. It’s guided so you’re not floundering, wondering if you’re doing it right. When I got more comfortable with meditating on my own (and when I became less willing to pay the monthly $12.95 subscription), I used Insight Timer. It also has guided meditations but more useful was the Tibetan bell that marks the start and end of my practice which was more appropriate than the jarring built-in iPhone alarms.
My favorite is the simplest: it’s a walking meditation, no tools needed.
After dinner, I take off and take a 30-minute walk. Most times, my mind is not quiet as I usually think about my day and the future (past and future thinking is NOT meditation which is about bringing your attention back to the NOW.)
But when I remember to focus on the present moment, then meditation becomes more sensual. You notice the bounciness of the grass underneath your feet and how different it feels from the solid concrete. The feel of the wind against your skin and hair. The glow of a faraway skyline and the lives being lived beyond closed curtains. How the sliver of a quarter moon looks like a cradle for the stars.
And there is a moment of calm that lives in your heart and today, this minute, is enough.
