Unusually warm for early April, the ceiling fans whirred in slow motion, unable to break the stuffiness of the room.
Looking around, noone seemed to mind.
Think of our minds as a crazy, wild elephant, she explained. Running lose, distracted by all that surrounds it. Never in one spot long enough, it’s too busy charging through to the next place,
Yet, there is the opportunity for our mind to sit still. To stay in one spot. To live for that particular moment.
Meditation is the rope of mindfulness, pulling in our busy minds. Trying us to get back to the stake of virtue. Returning to a place of inner peace.
If there was persuasion in her voice, it was so gentle, it could only be used to inspired us.
We were soon all to eager to begin the task at hand.
People took positions on cushions at the front, sitting crosslegged. Others remained in their chairs, with backs straight. Eyes slightly closed, hands neatly placed on laps, with the right palm lying on top of the left, tips of thumbs ever so slightly touching, forming the shape of a small circle.
One hand represents wisdom, the other compassion, we were told.
Breathing in, breathing out. Feeling the cool air enter our nostrils. Chests slightly rising and falling in its restful, natural pace.
The buzz of the streets and beach crowds outside slowly faded into the background.
Silence blanketed over the room. Despite it being full of strangers, there was a sense of comfort. After all, we were all trying to achieve a common goal.
Just as a slight jolt of random thoughts entered my head, there was her voice, quietly reminding me to return. To find my rope and pull myself back in.
And then, there it was. Only to explain it as a vacuum. Of completely dark nothingness. But far from depressing or confining. I wanted to sink in deeper. Search down to the very bottom. There seems to be so much there to explore.
And that’s the beauty of it all. There is no end. A state of mindfulness is infinite.
We all have the potential to make it ours.
Making meditation a part of daily life wasn’t easily adapted. There were many setbacks trying to squeeze something else into an already hectic schedule. You know the story. The little precious spare time we have seems to always sink into the humdrum of motherhood – without a spare thought to consciously make it for ourselves. But there became an obvious difference to the days when I stayed committed to when I didn’t.
Realising its positives: a newly found sense of calm, overriding the anxiety; the ability to snap out of negativity and into perspective; the extra mental space to draw in some drops of happiness rather than habitually droop to sadness; why wouldn’t I continue ?
That rope is there to reel in a better version of me. It’s there reminding me that the possibilities in finding who that actually is, are endless.
And that’s what keeps this unruly, restless elephant returning again and again.