As I sit down to do my meditation practice, I am confronted with the parade of thoughts running through my ever-busy brain. Where did I put my favorite hat? I wonder what I'm going to teach in class tomorrow. I can't wait for this snow to go away. I crave running. And sunshine. I'm definitely going to start running when it gets nicer out. I'll play the Rocky theme song when I do it. I should clean my room. I feel kind of anxious. What am I doing in this chair right now?
And then, just like a beam of sun shining through the clouds, comes the "Aha!" moment, as we call it in Calmer Choice, the program for which I am teaching mindfulness to kids in school. The Aha! moment is that moment when you come back to breath and body awareness. Simply: I am breathing in, I am breathing out. This moment is where the perfect simplicity of the present moment lies, amidst the bright, colorful, loud, confetti-fogged, candy-driven distracting parade.
Do you ever have moments like this? Moments where you wander into the kitchen, knowing that you came downstairs for some specific reason, yet you are still scratching your head, wondering why? It's what our brains do. We think, we make up ideas, we follow them, we forget them, we move on. But if you've run into the whole, "What did I come here for?" problem, you probably also know how frustrating it can be to forget what you endeavored to find, and how very rewarding it is when you can focus enough to remember what you needed. This is what I love about mindfulness, and the practice of yoga.
Wherever your mind wanders, no matter how many paths you cross, follow, and take a U-turn on, the moment of coming back--the Aha! moment--is always there, and always home. Always still, and quiet, and perfect, and wherever you are.
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