Gandhi's 4th point: Without action, you aren't going anywhere. Taking action can be hard. But really, without taking action, very little will be done. Recently I felt like I was lacking a sense of quietness. Living in the heart of San Francisco and having numerous social opportunities surrounding me, I was beginning to feel like I just wanted to be submersed in good old fashion peace and quiet. (whatever that means). Meditation has always been difficult for me because I have never practiced it on a regular basis and I feel like my mind is stuffed with clutter sometimes which has also made it hard for me to concentrate on basically nothing. To me, this is a huge red flag screaming at me saying how much I NEED MEDITATION.
I read a plethora of spiritual books & blogs, and I try to practice yoga on average 3-4 times per week. I felt like by reading and studying endlessly on how to be more calm and present, I was still lacking the peace that my mind has been craving. Until this week...
My girlfriend and I took a vinyasa flow/meditation class in one of the most peaceful and beautiful setting I have ever seen. It was inside a stunning church on top of historic Nob Hill, only a block from my apartment. The second I walked in, I was flooded with emotion. The happy, relaxing emotional feeling that was telling me: This is exactly where you are supposed to be. We were there 30 minutes early and I looked around at people just lying on their mats, eyes closed, hands on stomach and chest, paying attention to their breath it seemed.
I think my point is just to emphasize for myself at least, that reading books and blogs give me a sense of knowledge which is great. But only physically putting what I am learning into practice, will I actually start to feel results. I can't even explain the way I felt walking out of that class. I felt like I was carrying less weight, I felt more clear. Meditation allows us to look at ourselves, almost like we're floating up out of our bodies and and looking down. We're allowed to observe our feelings, sad or happy or neutral. We accept the feelings exactly as they are without judgement or trying to shove them away. Answers begin to come to us when our minds are quiet. We can think more clearly. I am so grateful I stepped into this class, it will be my new Tuesday night routine. So overall, no matter how great the obstacle or what we feel we're lacking, we have to take the first step at some point to get to where we want (or in my case, NEED) to be.
