Finding the time, finding the energy

I suppose it's the most common complaint: "But I don't have time to meditate!" Do remember that everyone in the world has exactly the same amount of time as everyone else. This awareness will help us get perspective on the time issue. But I know it's easy to be seduced by the illusion that we don't have time. Or that we don't have the energy. Nancy O'Hara addresses these difficulties in Find a Quiet Corner:

Finding the time. Dealing with avoidance and fear. Pushing through the resistance. Learning to breathe again. You might be asking yourself, why bother? It all sounds like so much effort. Where will the energy come from, and is it worth it?

This is the Catch-22 of putting a quiet corner in your life. In order to get there you do have to expend some energy. You get more back than you spend, but then you have to spend it for your next quiet corner. And so on and so on.

But. As you continue the practice of your quiet corner, the quality of your energy will change and you will always have the energy you need. When you carry over your quiet corner practices - breathing, mindfulness and so forth - into other areas of your life, your energy will be constant and strong. You will rarely run out, and any loss of sleep you experience as a result of your quiet corner will more than be made up for in the energy gained. In order to get energy you must spend a little, and once a quiet corner practice becomes a cornerstone in you life you will not recall how you once struggled to find the energy to get there. In fact, you will someday get to the point where you will retreat to your quiet corner in order to replenish your energy reserves.

This is so true. My life would simply not work if I didn't meditate. Once again I want to encourage those of you who live in the Tulsa area to stop by the Center for our daily sitting. It is easier to find the time and the energy if we make it a discipline to come to the meditation hall. Once we're there, the energy of the group is wonderfully supporting. Even if you make daily sitting at the Center only a once a week practice, those sessions will add up and create a backlog of mindfulness that will help you stay centered in your daily life. If you can't come to the Center then I encourage to to take Nancy O'Hara's advice literally and create a physical space in your home that is supportive of meditative practice. That way you can just go there whenever you have a few minutes and refresh yourself. See it as resting the mind. See it as truly recharging your batteries. I promise you, you won't regret it!