48 Days – I spent part of the day thinking about the balancing act of creating new habits while shedding old ones. Sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure on myself and before I am even done typing this sentence I think the first part of it is just procrastination and pure BS. The part I didn’t anticipate in all this would be stirring up memories that I now need to filter through new knowledge. Not as bad as a root canal but less fun than the nausea after riding a Tilt-a-Whirl.
The only solution I have right now is to just breathe.
It’s been about 20 years that I’ve been practicing conscious breathing. Connecting your thoughts to your breath is a simple practice and it’s one I was fortunate enough to practice with one of the Dalai Lama’s right hand monks. You’d be surprised what $45 and an afternoon at the Free University can get you sometimes. Breathing in with a thought and exhaling with another thought can be pretty powerful stuff. I breathe in procrastination; I exhale timely actions. I breathe in my angst and breathe out peaceful life. After a few minutes it feels like your entire body is taking it all in–that thing that is fearful or difficult or so hard to release. And you are present with it, face to face. Then the air whooshes out and the seed-sized essence of what you want to grow is exhaled and covers you like a satin sheet.
Breathing. That’s the progress of the day.
