Why can’t I meditate?
What is meditation really about? It is to get to know yourself better. To get to know who you are at this very moment. Who you are really, not who you want to be or wish to be. A simple process of self-observation. A simple process we seem to struggle a lot with nowadays. During a recent run, I thought to myself: ‘No wonder we struggle to observe what is. We live in such a modified environment. We rarely do things as they are free from distractions.’
Let's stay where the example of running... I also love going on runs with music on my ears, as so many of us do. A way to process, think, and daydream. Yet, I’m not 100% with what is. I run a little faster with the beat of one song, then a little slower with the beat of another. This means I make a simple task that helps to reflect and I modify it into a moment or experience that I desire. I don't run as I am. I run as I wish or I want to. There are so many activities we do that have a meditative aspect, yet we modify them. Other examples are going for walks scrolling, eating with our phones, or watching TV. We don't do and observe things as they are, so when it then comes to meditation, we seem to struggle to undo…
How much of what I do day to day am I actually doing and not daydreaming? Can I remember in the evening what I did during the day? Otherwise, I would just be dreaming with my eyes open. Living life like the dreamer, not being aware that he is dreaming. We are often not awake, daydreaming in thought and when we meditate we continue to daydream. It is not that we can’t sit still…
How do we start to undo and wake up? A friend once said to me: “How you do one thing you do everything.” For him, it is washing the dishes. Even though he owns a dishwasher he turned washing his plates into an almost spiritual practice. If he isn’t fully with what he is doing and doesn’t remember washing the dishes he knows something else in his life is off. One simple task freed from distraction can become the gateway to the present moment. It doesn’t have to be the dishes. It could be anything…