The Most Gorgeous…Meditation.

Lately I’ve been trying to quiet my GenXer mind.  Of course, by “lately” I mean since March 2020. I’m not going to do a recap, y’all know it’s been a messed up 17 months and counting.  I realize not all suffering is created equal but I think it’s safe to say, we all could use some calmer times.  My world view saw us buying all the things, watching all the things, reading all the things, eating all the things (some folks, drinking all the things. Oops.) and yet all that consuming left me empty with an exhausted brain. Perhaps because I was also grieving all the things.  My sleep was messed up, which was shocking for me since I’ve meditated for years.  I’m not the hiking up Machu Picchu to meditate type – no shade on the advanced yoga crowd, just not my thing.  However, I was more than competent doing a quick re-centering before going to sleep, or going on stage or in front of cameras or even before my  pre-2020 commute. Who here hasn’t felt the need to mentally prepare for the insane Friday afternoon crowded trains or traffic - dodging the buck wild drivers rushing to start their weekend… I digress.

One would think having a history of practicing meditation would come in handy while the world turned upside down, but nope. I couldn’t focus on my breathing because that usually sent my brain down a very dark Covid19 fear path.  It’s a 1st world problem for sure but since everything is relative, it was important for me to calm my mind in order to be my best self. Calming my mind with chocolate and ice cream does indeed work, for a minute, but I still needed my pants to fit upon “re-entry”.  Whew.

One day last winter, I was admiring my lovely floral arrangement from Hummingbird. My husband gifted me a years worth of monthly bouquets (thanks Babe!) and it wasn’t some mea culpa penance, he generously wanted me to have flowers to look forward to every month.  On this particular day, I remember thinking how perfect the blooms were.  I placed them on our dining room table and sat admiring the arrangement.  Then I decided to focus on just one deep pink bloom.  I concentrated for about 10 minutes on just the flower.  It was the first time I noticed the fuzzy texture of the stem, the flower’s many folds, the different shades, I breathed in the delicate scent…I realized I was actually meditating easily and completely for the first time in months.  I felt so much clarity and peace afterwards, I decided to switch my meditation practice to flowers, butterflies, leaves, trees…nature.  It’s been a true game changer for me.  The chaos in my mind is no match for the simplicity of a flower.  A flower’s perfect grace is one that we can all strive for no matter how messy the real world ends up being.