The power of silence

Meditation is hard for me. I had established a solid daily practice for about 6 months, but then got out of the habit due to summer activities and never quite got back again. As a result, various disconcerting happenings (which are an inevitable part of life) predictably turned into stress (which honestly was quite preventable… had I meditated).

I could say it has been a question of time (i.e. I don’t have it), but that’s not really true. I usually only sit for 10-15 minutes a day, for one thing. And more to the point: what does it say about my life if I can’t prioritize even a measly half hour to feel better and more centered for the rest of the time? Nothing good, that’s what.

The vicious cycle is that: I don’t sit, and so I get stressed, and so I don’t feel like I can prioritize sitting, and so I get even more stressed (and aggravated), including feeling guilty about not sitting, and … you get the point.

This week, I found my meditation mojo again. Partially, it is my surroundings. I am spending the week in breathtakingly beautiful surroundings in Colombia’s coffee zone. But also and maybe more importantly, there is silence in these surroundings and this silence breeds peace.

I know of course that the point of meditation is that you can do it anywhere, regardless the noise (literal or figurative). And I also know that sometimes it’s OK to set yourself up for success. By taking advantage of the silence outside of me to help generate silence inside of me, I am making space for the times ahead when I need to draw on these reserves.

I know this is how it works, not so much because I believe it as because I have experienced it.

Ideally, this is how we know most things. For now, I will settle for knowing the power of silence.