Perfect Interruption
It is a perfectly still Autumn morning. I sit in the garden, the sun streaming on my face, anticipating a perfect morning meditation. I close my eyes, take a few deep breathes and within minutes find myself contending with loud noises coming from my neighbour’s garden. Yes, at this exact moment my neighbour chooses to use his super powered leaf blower. Worse still he is teaching his 18 month old daughter how to use it. So much for my morning zen.
So many thoughts flood my head. Why is he doing this at 8 am? Are my kids going to wake up? When will it stop…
I then catch myself. This is in fact the perfect meditation. Not the most enjoyable, but the perfect opportunity to watch my thoughts and not buy into them. So I persevere, and right before I finish there is a few minutes of silence, even more perfect in their contrast to the leaf blower.
My meditation teacher once told me a story about her stepfather. He had been a regular meditator, but when he meditated, the whole house had to be quiet. He would get very angry if anyone made a noise to ruin his medtation.
When I first started meditating it became another thing I wanted to get right. If I didn't have a transformative or calming experience, somehow I was failing. It took me years to realise that much of the benefit lay in the process rather than the result. The longer I meditate the more I see the benefits are often in the space it gives afterwards.
This idea often comes up. Perfection being no disturbance, no suffering, no discomfort, rather than perfection being the ability to navigate these discomforts. It is actually when we navigate these feelings that we feel our happiest and most satisfied.
People have often told me that they can’t meditate or find it to difficult to turn off their thoughts.
Ironically meditation is the perfect tool to help with this. Sometimes it can be helpful to accept that initially the mind is more likely to be busy but with time it will often slow down.
Meditation can then give us the perfect opportunity to learn how to navigate discomfort.
Podcasts
The Rich Roll Podcast
Episode 781 Build the life you want Arthur C Brooks on happiness Transcendence and creating life satisfaction
Podcast about learning to embrace discomfort
https://www.richroll.com/podcast/arthur-brooks-781/
Episode 787 Discovering yourself in tragedy Steph Catudal on love grief, healing and finding meaning.
Healing and finding meaning in life’s profound moments
https://www.richroll.com/podcast/steph-catudal-787/
Ten Percent Happier Dan Harris
Multiple podcasts on meditation and different meditations of various lengths.Great variety. There is also a Ten percent happier App which has courses.
How to practice when you are fidgety or anxious Sharon Salzburg (meditation)
Joseph Goldstein on how not to try too hard in Meditation (podcast)
Ten Percent happier Website/App link
