Beating myself up for not adhering to a strict zen meditation routine is a daily occurrence. But I realized something after deleting Facebook the other day. First of all, the effect of simply removing cable television service and social media like Facebook is nothing to scoff at. Despite having been my lazy self when it comes to meditation and Step work, the last three days I have basked in the present moment. I have been living one moment at a time, one thought at a time, one action at a time. I have been moving slower, eating slower, and reacting less. Best of all, my incessant stimulus headaches are gone.
What I have discovered is ‘living mediation’. Our lives can be a constant meditation. All we have to do is slow down and just do what’s in front of us, mindfully and deliberately. We don’t necessarily have to carve out time to pack in a good half-hour meditation session. Meditation can be a 24/7 thing, if we can discipline ourselves to live moment to moment.
Removing distractions is just the first step, but an important one. It’s hard to clear out the mind and think one thought at a time if we’re constantly jamming clutter into our storage space. After that, it’s a simple matter of practice. I do what’s in front of me, but I try to do it slowly and deliberately. I try to just focus on that one thing. And if my head jumps into the future or the past, I pray for help bringing me back and keeping me there (or here, rather).
Maintaining sanity and dosing ourselves with some peace of mind and happiness can be as simple as removing worldly garbage and slowing down. And if for some reason you find it hard to cancel Comcast or delete Facebook, pray for the willingness. I assure you, it will come. Plus, do you really want Facebook scum management selling your information to the NSA and the current administration to be scrutinized and assessed to see if you need to be detained indefinitely under the president’s illegal and wildly immoral NDAA act?
God, please teach me to live each moment mindfully and deliberately, that I may live my life in constant meditation…