The Magic of Meditation

“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.”

— Sakyong Mipham

I stumbled onto meditation by accident.

I was chasing a girl who worked at a local bakery that I didn’t have a shot in hell with, but I couldn’t stop myself from trying. She was the kind of adorably innocent, drop-dead gorgeous, girl-next-door type that just happens to be my kryptonite. I also have a strange weakness for women who make me delicious food.

She mentioned that she went to a yoga studio by my apartment. I didn’t have any social connection to her other than us knowing each other’s names and a few other superficial details of each other's lives.

So I brought myself a yoga mat, and signed up for classes. “Ohhh Megan, you come here too? What a coincidence!” That was the line I had rehearsed and ready, in the event that we should cross paths.

At the start of the very first class that I took the instructor had us sit crosslegged on the floor. “Close your eyes,” she said. “Don’t think about your problems. Don’t think about your wants…” There was a pause while the hippy dippy flute music played above me.

“Just, be…” she said crisply, and gently.

“Just be…” I heard, echoing in my head. It dawned on me that I couldn’t remember a single moment in my life where I took time to just be. And as I sat there breathing, and being, I had the realization that I might be experiencing one of the most important moments of my life.

It wasn’t a profound spiritual awakening; nor was it a feeling of bliss, or divine light, or love or anything like that. It was a more rational experience. It felt good to “just be.” It felt really, really good.

That’s when I realized. All of my striving for the good things in life; all of my anxious avoidance of pain. Every moment of it just led to more of the same. And if I never took time to soak in the wonderful gift of conscious existence, then perhaps I was taking years of time out of the one life I had to live, and wasting them.

The rest of the class kicked my ass, and by the end, I was sweating straight through my shirt. Yoga, I found out, is not for sissies.

But when I came home, the first thing I did was download what is now my favorite meditation app. I sat on my couch, and I did a 2 minute guided meditation, courtesy of the Geico Gecko voice guy. Then I did another one. And then another.

By the end of the summer, I was experiencing a new type of existence. I was more at peace. I was more in control of my habits. I was learning to be mindful: continually aware of my thoughts, and surroundings. And in the best moments, I was finding myself lost in silent, tranquil solitude.

That was several years ago, and as it often goes, I slowly let my practice slip. I made strides in my career, got in and out of an intense relationship, and then found myself in the throes of a deadly pandemic.

But just today I sat on my floor, closed my eyes, and remembered that all of this striving, worrying, hoping, and longing is for nothing if I can’t learn to embrace the life I already have. So I set aside my wants. I let go of my worries. I took a moment to just… be.

It’s already making a difference.

Thanks for reading