So today marks my 500th consecutive day of meditating, and by meditating, I mean spending 10-12 minutes each morning (after coffee) listening to an app called “Calm” that I downloaded onto my smartphone. Most of the time I listen to this guy named Jeff Warren. Jeff has a really relaxing voice; talks frequently about mindfulness/meditation wisdom he’s picked up over the years (and how he proceeded to largely ignore much of said wisdom when he was younger…his self-deprecating humour is hard to resist!). He also regularly notes funny things his little kid does that make him laugh. True story – this is pretty much what my daily mindfulness practice involves.
But on a (slightly) more expansive note, I’ve managed to (quite easily) stick to this habit for 500 straight days because I get more out of this practice than just starting my day off with a smile and a chuckle (although these are two rather priceless things to experience at the start of each day!). A few other things I’ve been able to experience over the past 500 days are (in no particular order):
- The ability remain (a bit more) calm, even during stressful times…at least more often than I used to
- Better mental clarity and focus…as in a bit less like a dog that’s just seen a squirrel. In other words, being able to focus on one thing at a time (or at least fewer things) instead of being easily distracted by a thousand things/thoughts.
- Not responding to loved ones in an emotionally charged/triggered manner…or at least less often than I used to.
I actually drafted this post last night, on the eve of my 500th consecutive day, and interestingly today’s guided meditation (or “Daily Trip” as Jeff calls them) happened to be about managing distractions. The closing quote really resonated with me, and I thought I’d share it with you as well:
“You’re doing the best you can in this life, friend. Your distractibility and vulnerability, all your large and small pains – they make you human. They make you beautiful and real, and they connect you to everybody else. So, give yourself a break! When distractions come in, you fire up that creaky engine of self-compassion and understanding. Life is just too short to do anything else. And caring for yourself, it expands your capacity to care for everybody else.”
If you’re curious to learn more about my own experience with sticking to a simple mindfulness practice for the past 500 days feel free to reach out – always happy to chat!
TGIF (Friday December 3rd, 2021),
Karl
Coffee and Karma 