Finding S p a c e

Some months ago I started a meditation practice.  Like any new habit, I knew it would take some time to become automatic.  I committed to 15 minutes a day.  I figured it couldn’t be that impossible to find 15 minutes in a day to sit quietly.

And it wasn’t.  Some days I forgot, some days I only had 10 minutes… soon enough 15 minutes started to feel too short.  I moved it up to 30 minutes a day.  That felt so delicious, but 30 minutes was definitely a challenge in more way than one.

Most days I settle on 20 minutes, which is nowhere near long enough to really dive in, but long enough to reset me in a powerful way.  Even 10 minutes and I can see radical shifts in my breathing and state of mind after.

Lately it’s seemed almost impossible to carve out any quality time, space, and quiet… and I was feeling the difference.  I was missing it.

I decided if I waited until I had the perfect 30 minutes, I might be waiting quite a while.
I started looking for space in the busyness.  One day I found 20 whole minutes to meditate… while my car was getting washed.  Behind my sunglasses I closed my eyes and watched my breath settle, my thoughts float by, and took in the wonderful noises of being in the present.  Today I found 15 minutes while the cookies for company were baking.  Refreshing.

I don’t know when I will find my next 20 minutes, but now that I’ve opened my eyes to the space that’s available if I just take a closer look, I’ll know it when I see it and step into it, settle down, and breathe.