When I think about why I meditate, I often can’t find an intellectual answer. It just seems right. But it does help to have an explanation that can engage the thinking mind, because although that thinking mind got us to try meditation in the first place, as soon as we actually meditate, that mind usually decides that anything—even cleaning the bathroom—has got to be better than sitting there and following the breath. So I like what the teacher Sam Harris says:
“It's useful to remind yourself why it is you do this. Which is to be better in all our moments. To be less trivial, to be more engaged, to be able to connect to people and situations more closely. To be of more use to people, both those you love and care about and those you have yet to meet. All of this is a preparation for every moment that is to come…Just keep coming back to the practice. Keep letting go of your expectations. Keep forgetting all the previous moments that brought you here and simply connect with whatever is appearing on its own in this one.”
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
