Health / Wellness

Loving This Moment

As we approach the end of 2016, it's a wonderful time to slow down, reflect, and practice unhurriedness.

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meditation women meditating silence silentOur difficulties of the moment must always be dealt with somehow, but our permanent difficulties are difficulties of every moment.
—T.S. Eliot

Last week, I spent six exquisitely delightful (and at the same time painful) days on a silent meditation retreat. Silent meditation retreat, as the name suggests, is silent—no talking, no communicating, no eye contact. From 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., there are alternating periods of walking and sitting meditations.

The day is accentuated by bells, which indicate the end of one meditation period and the start of the next. Aside from meals, Dharma talks and “work meditation,” you’re meditating.

The first few days felt awful. I was falling asleep—constantly. Usually an insomniac, this was an unusual experience. I noticed a deep sense of exhaustion—feeling as though my body weight was too burdensome to carry.

That’s perhaps an unexpected benefit of retreats—you become more aware of your inner state. I’m guessing most of us are overworked, sleep deprived, and desperately in need of rest as well as stillness.

In addition to tiredness, I felt bored. No, that’s not quite the right word. I wanted the next thing to start. I wanted the bell to ring so I can get to the next thing.

Yet, there was no “there.” What awaited on the other side of the bell was more silence. More meditation.

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This desire to get to the “there” is a familiar one, probably to all of us. We graduate to high school, waiting for college, waiting for law school, waiting for job at a firm, waiting for partnership, on and on. Ever consider what we’re rushing to? Because, we all know how the story ends. It’s called: death.

Meanwhile, life, these precious moments are simply passing us by.

As we approach the end of 2016, it’s a wonderful time to slow down, reflect and practice unhurriedness.

This quality of unhurriedness is available in this moment. Right now. Go ahead and try it. As you’re reading these words, gently take a long inhale, letting the breath move slowly, all the way down to the diaphragm, expanding the entire torso, and in an unhurried manner, allow the breath to release.

If you catch yourself rushing, waiting, trying to do more, get more, to get somewhere, pause, relax, pay attention to a single breath and see what happens.

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The invitation, my friends, is to love this moment. Savor it. For no moment will be exactly like this moment—ever again. And the next moment is never guaranteed. Be kind to yourself.

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Earlier: Why I Go On Silent Meditation Retreats And You Should Too

Jeena Cho HeadshotJeena Cho is the author of The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (affiliate link). She regularly speaks and offers training on mindfulness and meditation. You can reach her at hello@jeenacho.com or @jeena_cho on Twitter.

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