A few months ago, I gave up the daily guided meditation apps that I started with years ago, for a simple timed with bells one I found at Plum Village. I’m enjoying it but have been thinking it would be nice to have something to read and focus to, reminders maybe. When Book and Beers on Instagram shared Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn, I ordered it on the spot.

When it arrived in my mailbox, I opened it up to the first page to find,

“Guess what? When it comes right down to it, wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that’s what you’ve wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking right now, that’s what’s on your mind. Whatever happened to you, it has already happened. The important question is, how are you going to handle it? In other words, “Now what?””

I immediately took a picture and sent it to my youngest son.

And now here I am reading two books at the same time again! It’s ok though. This one is for those small moments between things throughout the day. Instead of picking up my phone and playing a game, I can pick this up, read a page, meditate on the thought and move on with my day.

Here’s my favorite quote from this morning.

“Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”

LAO-TZU, Tao-te-Ching

Often in my life I have found myself struggling to find my way, to get out of a situation, push away an undesired feeling, or simply find my peace. Imagine looking for something at the bottom of a slow-moving creek. The more you move around, the more you kick up the sand and mud at the bottom, the less you can see. Hold still. Wait. Then move slowly. Meditation teaches us to do this, even when we’re on the verge of panic.

I love my morning meditations. I tend to skip them for long periods of time only to find out how much I need the practice in my life. Check out another of my random mediation posts, Morning Meditation – A Break.