Monday morning 6 a.m. The alarm clock woke me up once more from my sleep. The weekend seemed to have been far too short again. Shouldn't you actually relax at the weekend and recharge your batteries? If I were a cell phone, I'd still be luxuriating at 5%. Just thinking about my upcoming work week gave me a stomach ache. The traffic in the morning, the duties, the constant phone calls, the many colleagues who want something from you shortly before closing time and last but not least the constant stress.
I had to change something, and as soon as possible. My first thought: Quit! My second: Then who pays my bills? Or maybe just take a step back on my career ladder? Oh, what was I imagining. I could never have done that.
I was a workaholic who slowly but surely overreached myself and would eventually collapse under my own weight like a house of cards. At some point in my almost fruitless search for help, I came across an interesting article that describes meditation as a cure for many things. It sounded a bit ridiculous to me, but I went to the local bookstore, bought a meditation guide, watched some instructional videos, and started my first meditation the very next morning. What happened was unbelievable...
I never thought it was so hard to think about nothing for 10 minutes. I didn't even manage 10 seconds! The first time meditating was strange. Not necessarily bad. just weird. Even the next few days felt very unfamiliar. I made time in the morning that I just used for myself and didn't do anything productive in it. I hadn't done anything like that in years. Still, I didn't really feel it. But then came the turnaround.
One morning I hit the snooze button on my alarm clock one too many times and had to rush in the morning to get to the office on time. It wasn't until I arrived that I realized I was missing something. And suddenly I noticed. My meditation! i missed her I missed the feeling of a brief moment that was just mine and my spirit. When I got home that same day, of course, the first thing I did was meditate. And for the first time I felt a deep and honest relaxation flow through my body. No thought penetrated this feeling. I have been meditating daily since this experience and soon I began to notice a definite improvement in my mood.
Days that I previously found to be extremely stressful were labeled as "not that bad". The fear of seeing a dozen missed calls on my phone in the morning was gone. I couldn't help but smile at the otherwise annoying colleagues. From day to day I became more relaxed and also more productive again! I felt like it again. Desire for life, work and joy.
I may be an extraordinary example of how well daily meditation can work, but to be honest I don't really care. I feel like a new person and I know what I owe to this feeling.
