today, I’ve been pressing forward in practicing mindful meditation. I took 5 minutes — FIVE MINUTES — while my tea was steeping (I ran out of coffee).

I’m new. I don’t know all the things about a “proper mediation,” but one of the mindsets of mindful mediation is that when someone tries for a PERFECT meditation, they’re missing the point. The point is to simply TRY, to learn, and, when you get distracted, then you come back to your focus.

I don’t know what to focus on, but I heard something about focusing on your breath and something about observing leaves, so I looked out my window and, while my tea cup was brewing up some magic, I enjoyed watching the leaves and took some deep breaths.

While I’m not sure if you’re “supposed” to think of the leaves or not, but I learned something in that 5 minutes. I watched them sway in the gentle breeze and thought, “this is like my life.” There are times that I feel exposed to every element: rain, sunlight, forceful wind or maybe an animal perching or chewing on them. Then, I had another thought:

“See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you — you of little faith? … your heavenly Father knows that you need them… Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This is an excerpt of Jesus’s words that I’ve looked back on probably hundreds of times. (If you’re interested, it’s from the Book of Matthew 6:25–34.) It was like God said, “Hey! I’ve got 5 minutes to talk to Art while he’s staring out the window like an old man!” And He came through in that moment.

I worry a lot. A large piece of wanting to practice mindful meditation is that I’m so preoccupied with my thoughts that I’m seldom truly there. It’s like being out to dinner and, while your date is talking, you’re staring out the window or the wall thinking about work or the future… your date taps you on the shoulder and says, “Are you even listening?”

I worry about the future. My marriage and crossing off things on my Bucket List with my wife. My career and purpose. While I’m shaking like a leaf influenced by every breeze or gust of wind, He reminds me that “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them…” The leaf holds on. The branch bends in the wind, but it isn’t broken.

wow! not bad for 5 minutes!