Take A Breath
Task 43, November 8 to November 15
“Truth is the safest lie”. Unknown
Hello! Well, the election is over. If you voted for Mr. Trump, congratulations. If you voted for Ms. Harris, join one of the ten thousand resistance teams that have spawned in the last few days.
These are times that test our souls. Anxiety is available, free of charge, and everyone I know, regardless of age, sex, or political party has grabbed all they hold, and more…
When I get particularly stressed I turn to meditation. Not in a Maharishi, leg pretzeled way, but in a simpler, more mid-western fashion. And I don’t meditate in search of the meaning of life—no, I meditate to relieve anxiety by slowly, calmly and carefully isolating and examining that which is troubling me.
As a kid I was a worrier by nature and I often felt the cold fingers of uncertainty and anxiety clutching my vital organs, and worse—I was seemingly incapable of finding relief, which led to frustration and anger.
I don’t know exactly how old I was, or the circumstances that enveloped me (although I suspect it was in the late fall of my freshman year of college when my GPA hovered close to the “academic probation” death zone, in an era when flunking out of school earned you a “report for your physical” letter from Uncle Sam).
At any rate, I went for a long walk on a chilly day on a dusty dirt road near campus (yes, there were dirt roads in Wood County, Ohio—this wasn’t Columbus) and I started to rummage through my psyche like a bear in a trash can. After a while the problem revealed itself, as did the solution. Really, all I had to do was look…but more importantly I learned that while my troubles may be deeply buried in my cranial junk drawer, if I took my time, and did some sifting and shuffling, I could isolate them. And if I could identify them, I could figure out a way to deal with them.
And so began my home-made meditation. Over the years I got better, and quicker, at locating and dealing with my anxieties. Now maybe you can as well. It’s certainly a good time to try.
TASK:
Take a walk this week.