A Real Reason to Meditate (hint: it’s not enlightenment) 🙏

I never check luggage. But my recent trip to Costa Rica, I did. In line to check my bag at 5:00 a.m., I was a mere 10 minutes too late and needed to visit a separate counter to get my bag through. Slow as honey dripping out of a jar, the line moved. I recognized this wait was crossing me over to the dark side of flight rebooking.

Immediately, I predicted the heat sensation would tunnel from the pit of my stomach, race up my chest, and settle in my mind where it would fuel the fire for negative thoughts. Soon my inner voice would echo the sentiment my body would feel, “I’ll miss the entire day of vacation.” or “I’ll be at this airport for hours.” But there was a pause. A slight yet nuanced pause that gave way to grounding through my feet and bringing my awareness to my breath where I solely focused on that, gently thwarting away the noise whirling around in my head.

That is the power of meditation. It is not to sit in lotus pose for hours, or log mindful minutes on an app, or resolve to silence in a remote jungle.

The power of meditation lies in taking what you learn on the cushion and using it off the cushion.

Ram Dass once said, “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” Does it get any more real than that? Before a moment of irritation transforms into an argument and before anger boils over to regret, the power of meditation comes to fruition. It’s the difference between counting your breaths in line or losing your s%*t at the hard worker behind the airline counter.

Ask yourself: How would it feel to have more pauses in my life?

This isn’t to suggest negative emotions will cease to exist. We are human after all. With a consistent meditation practice, however, moments will arise that invite you to recognize and make space for your emotions and allow them to pass without giving into or fueling them. And that in itself makes meditation worth it to me, and I’d bet the gentlemen at the airline counter would agree.

Have you tried meditating? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience in the comment section. Or why you haven’t.