Oops, I Forgot to Meditate
Helpful things float away, but we can get them back, too
Have you ever stopped doing something by accident? It’s such a human thing to do. All humans are welcome here at A Wonderful Mess.
It just happened one day around when school started this year. And then it just kept happening, well actually not happening. I had stopped meditating. Not in protest. Not because it wasn’t helpful. The pace of the mornings just squeezed a little tighter, and it just slipped right out of the routine. Much like letting go of a balloon by accident, I looked up and said whoops, there goes that. Something that had been a regular fixture was no longer there.
In a recent interview with
about writing and mindfulness, I even highlighted how important it has been to have meditation as part of the routine:“I meditate most days. It’s a short amount of time due the constraints of life. It’s not fancy and some days, the meditation ends and I realize I haven’t been there the whole time. It’s important for me to keep the placeholder of the practice even when it’s hard and I just keep coming back again.”1
Has anything bad happened with its absence?
No.2
Will I try again?
Yes.
Why?
I know for me it is helpful.3 For me, it’s not a should. You know when you think you should do something due to the influence of others. Like being sold self-care practices as a solution to all of the world’s problems. No, that’s not what it is for me. I’ve done the work, to know this is something good in my life, even when it’s hard. It adds value and that is worth to me.
For me, it’s not dissimilar to a sports practice. You practice outside of competition so you are ready to perform in the weekend game. I meditate so I remember how to get in touch with my breath when my preschooler “needs something” from the fridge which involves staring for an extended period and then asking for a lime.
And why share this here?
This is not a piece where I will tell you to meditate. I am writing this because it’s helpful to know that we all lose track of what helps us. We go through seasons where things seem to float away even when they have been present for a really long time. This could be true for anything that helps in your life— meditation, movement, journaling, early bedtime, reading, or time with friends. And when this happens it can be a signal. Before jumping into “fixing” it, check in and see what’s going on. Why did this start to slip away? There could be a variety of causes. Once you have a better idea as to what happened, then, sort out a plan if this is something you need in your life right now.
I’ve meditated three times this week. It has felt good, like returning to an old friend. What about you? Do have any old friends you need to reconnect with?
Some other things about meditation, pivoting, and routines
For better or worse, when you write things on the internet, your words haunt you and keep you accountable.
Not that I know of at least.
I do not ascribe to the belief that everyone must meditate, although I believe most people can meditate if they want to.
I stopped writing on Substack as frequently back in February. I have written a handful of times since then, and I still enjoy it very much, but I don’t want to return to a weekly practice of posting. It helps me when I am anxious to write, but not everything I write has to be published. Journaling helps too!
LOL, the LIME!! That is a deep breath kind of moment for sure. I love how guilt free and simple you allow for the slippage to be, and that you ask not "how do I get back to that" but "why did I let it go?" It feels like such a small and such a huge shift in how to approach getting back.