One breath

“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I smile.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus

Such simple instructions, so hard to follow.

The bar, I would like to remind you, need not be so high.

In meditation, certainly, but it’s never just about meditation…

Click here for just a few things it might be about, outside of, you know, meditation:

Eating better, like with real foods
Becoming a rock star or late night talk show host
Decluttering your home and acreage
Exercising or working out or otherwise being the beefcake
Improving your relationships
Getting yourself up earlier so you can read important things that make your day better
Writing, no matter the reason
Going for a run every day if you are a crazy person
Going for a walk every day if you are sane and enjoy your knees
Learning to play guitar with no intent towards stardom
Changing the world
Perfecting the morning routine.
Perfecting the evening routine.
Optimizing like all the routines.
Filling the world with beauty
Improving your Rubik’s Cube time
Keeping your plants alive
Doing therapeutic things to hold the old bod together
Hydrating like a boss
Building big things for little people
Redeeming democracy
…
..
.
Meditating (it really could be about meditating)

Whatever practice you’re working on, whatever you’re botching spectacularly, whatever hope has you in despair, let’s step back and allow just a little reframing…

#1. You’re not failing, you’re learning. The journey is just as important as the destination, and often turns out to be where the gold actually is. In each footstep–forwards and back–in every slip-up and every abandonment and every choice, just as much as every giant leap in the ‘right’ direction.

#2. Baby steps. Don’t try to swallow the whole shebang at once. That bar is a tripping hazard if ever there was one. Reel it back in. Set it for now in a manageable, attainable, even easy place. One baby step at a time will get you there, and is much less likely to trip you up and usher in the full face plant. You can always raise that bar when you’ve built a little more muscle.

#3. If it is meditation, it’s all about just this one breath.
If it’s anything else, it’s all about just this one breath.
Breathe.

“When you hear the sound of the bell, take the opportunity to come home to yourself and enjoy your breathing. Take a few moments to inhale and exhale deeply and touch a little happiness. If you want to experience what the end of suffering will feel like, it is in the here and now with this breath. If you want nirvana, it’s right here.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I smile.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus