People seem to have certain ideas, about what meditation actually is. Most, seem to think that the only way to meditate, is to sit cross legged, empty your mind, focus on your breathing and surrender to the silence. It's funny, how we can get stuck on these ideas and then when we can't achieve them, we deem ourselves as failures.
Perhaps, this is why some people believe that it is hard to meditate. So they don't even try, but the fact is, most of us do it without even realizing it sometimes.
How is that possible, you may ask. Well think about something that you love to do. Something that you can really immerse yourself in, that you feel like you get lost in that moment. Perhaps it's playing music or dancing. Maybe you love to cook or paint. Then there are those of us, that love to get into the garden and get our hands in the soil.
They are many other examples, but these are the ones that come to me now. So what is yours?
I have a few that I enjoy. Dancing is one of them. When I dance, I give myself over to the beat, I forget everything and just focus on the music that I hear and then, I become one with it. My limbs, an extension of the sounds I hear.
When I am in the garden, when my hands are in the soil and I am focused on the task at hand, I can so easily empty my mind and tune into the sounds around me, connecting fully with my environment.
Is this not what it means to meditate, to clear your mind and bring more awareness into your life. To enter a state of balance and oneness! There are many ways to achieve this, some that you do daily, almost like rituals. Even if it is just for a few minutes.
So why is it so hard to meditate?
Well personally, I think that it's only difficult to meditate, if you are conditioned to believe that it can only be done a certain way. As if one shoe fits all!
No two people are the same and what works for one, may not work for another. Once we take the time to really explore who we are and what we enjoy, then we can discover the things that allows us to reach a meditative state, that is tailored to who we are. Not a textbook entry that has worked so well for others.
I do know that many people can sit quietly and achieve this, but if like me, that is unreachable, then focus more on doing what you love, what allows you to reach that inner calm. We are all so wonderfully different, we only need to embrace that and find what works for each of us.