The Sweetest Moment

This will just take a moment of your time

Giving Myself a Break

When I started a regular mediation practice, I didn’t know what I was doing. I just needed a break. I desperately needed a moment to myself where I could just be and breathe.

Here is a quick rundown of my life at the time. My son was still just a toddler at three years old. I had had a recent bilateral mastectomy and was going through chemo. I was working full-time. I visited my mother twice a week in her Alzheimer’s facility – she was beginning the later stages of the disease. My husband (now my ex-husband) was going through a severe depression. If I hadn’t taken these moments to go within, I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through it. I believe taking these moments kept me from having a full-on breakdown.

I didn’t want to reach nirvana, be more spiritual, calmer or have any goal in mind. I just wanted a break. So I started to take those breaks in the slices of moments between other moments in life. The spiritual path may not be for you but having a moment to yourself is for everyone. It may become the sweetest moment of the day for you. It demands nothing of you. It requires no special training or discipline. It is simply a moment to breathe and be.

I can’t remember where I got the idea or if my guides (ever at my side even before I knew they were) were prompting me with inspiration.

This later became the foundation of my teaching. My students were people a lot like me with young children, jobs, and family demands of all sorts. So I taught them this meditation method and a way to make the time for themselves that they had been denied for years. No matter where you are in life, you can do this, and with just a few minutes a day, you can find the peace and strength to keep going through all of life’s worst difficulties.

A Time & Place for You

How can you make time for yourself when even going to the bathroom is not without interruption?

Take a moment to think about your day. There are pockets when you are not interrupted. At first, for me, it was the car. It was the only time I was truly alone. I would drop my son at daycare and go to work. I could park at work and wait. Taking my moment in the parking lot. I trained myself to sit in the car before jumping out. It was hard to break the habit of rushing into work, but with practice, I reminded myself to turn off the engine and just sit. I could do the same on days when I wasn’t working at the grocery store parking lot. If I forgot to do it in the morning, I could do it when I got home before leaving the car.

I still have the muscle memory habit of not getting out of the car immediately once parked. If this could work for you, I recommend it as a great starting point.

For many of my students who didn’t leave the house daily, the bathroom was their spot of solitude; if even that was impossible, they could take a moment in the shower. Find the place where you can just be and breathe.

The Moment Belongs to You

Now that you have the place and know the times you are usually in that place, what do you do there?

Nothing, my friend, just do nothing. For five minutes, just let your mind wander. Just breathe. Just settle. Just be. Try not to move or fidget too much but if you need to, let it happen. Do not put your attention anywhere but wherever it wants to go. Let your mind have a moment to run free. You may at first find your mind to be very busy. Let it be busy.

You can close your eyes or keep them open. You can listen to meditation music or sit in silence. The object is only to allow yourself time to do nothing. Give yourself the gift of nothing. No need to achieve a goal, do a chore or help someone. Your boss, your child, and your spouse aren’t there. It is just you. You are with yourself. All you need is to be silent in stillness with the power that is you. If you like, set a timer to keep from worrying about the time, and let yourself be.

Spending Five Minutes with Yourself is Life-Changing

Don’t believe me? Why don’t you try it for a week?

For seven days, use those slices of time to be silent and still with yourself, letting your mind wander and just being you. That is okay if you can’t do it every day in a row. Even skipping a day or two, will still be effective in helping you. Once you have done it seven times, think about how you like it.

How do you feel about it? Do you look forward to it? Is it yet another ‘have to’, or is it something you feel you need? Let it go if it is yet another thing on your ‘to-do’ list. This is not meant to add daily pressure. On the contrary, it is intended to relieve the pressure. So keep it up if it feels like an oasis of respite from the harsh daily demands of living.

You will never regret taking this time. After being present for you for a bit, maybe a few weeks, you will see how your life changes and makes room for you. Even if you already do a structured and disciplined mediation practice, I recommend allowing the mind to do as it wishes for five minutes daily. It is a beautiful experience.

Your world shall shift into a place of ease with each moment of silence and stillness.

https://janetkadow.com/ * @janetkadow * Janet@janetkadow.com * 619.866.4405