January Challenge: Meditation

Meditate for 10 minutes every day.

Meditation is like a drug. When I do it my entire perception changes. Everything I look at becomes sharper, like I’m watching a movie in high definition. Sounds stack themselves into distinct layers that I can peel away and explore. The world gets a temporary upgrade, and I’m the only beneficiary.

Despite the obvious benefits of meditation I’ve always had difficulty making a habit out of it. It might be because it’s a somewhat private act—I can’t just sit in my chair at work and zone out—so it’s essentially relegated to mornings and evenings, both of which fill up with tasks that seem to overrule my to-do list. In the end doing tops being, unfortunately, and that lack of attention to mental health isn’t sustainable.

Doing tops being, unfortunately, and that lack of attention to mental health isn’t sustainable.

It’s generally accepted that we have to take care of our bodies, but we (dare I say Western society) don’t place as much emphasis on taking care of the mind. It’s easy to understand how we can develop such a standard of self-care: an unkept body has visual markers, but an unkept mind isn’t as obvious. On top of that most of us strive to hide our difficulties—to keep them personal—which supplies society with a sense of psychological isolation. We’re all faced with similar anxieties and difficulties, but rarely do we discuss them with anyone but our closest friends.

This month I’m going to work out my mind by meditating for at least ten minutes, daily. Feel free join me.