Meditating

You see- this is the problem with being engaged to a millennial- they turn us cynical Gen-Xers into towering pillars of positivity.

At least that’s what I was blaming for yesterday’s blog post. If only Jaimie’s Millennial milieu hadn’t rubbed off on me I wouldn’t be out here writing about my new found self help mottos. I’d be dressed in black, writing in a Mead Notebook about the pointlessness of hope.

I received the appropriate amount of blowback yesterday from my Gen X friends. They made fun of me by turning my Win Today motto into a hashtag. I promised to atone for my sins by re-watching Singles, Reality Bites, and listening to all of Janeane Garofalo’s stand up albums.

But the thing is, I think there’s truth to what I said. I’m obviously facing something fairly pressing, but even without that life is too hard to try and take on all at once. And my experience throughout this process is that if I get overwhelmed by everything that is happening, then I tend to miss all the cool things life is offering me in the present moment.

And all it took was cancer for me to realize it!

(Sorry, was just making sure my sarcasm levels were still functioning properly.)

So WTF do I do to try and maintain this Win Today attitude?

Number 1: Meditate

I don’t know about you, but every morning when I first wake up, my brain decides to bring me face to face with all the deficiencies my life has to offer. From financial to medical, as soon as my eyes open and I start the day I am bombarded with all the ways I have not lived up to my potential. With all the ways I’ve squandered my white male privilege. Those negative thoughts pelt me while I feed Andy, while I drink my water, while I brew my coffee. They don’t stop until I sit on the couch, close my eyes, and meditate for 15-20 minutes.

That’s how tightly wound I am: I have to chill out the second I wake up.

After I open my eyes, however, and those 15-20 minutes have passed, all of a sudden life seems easier. Softer. Problems come, problems go, and yet I remain super laid back. I don’t glare at people who have Trump 2020 bumper stickers. My eye doesn’t twitch when my neighbors haven’t picked up after their dogs. I don’t want to burn my apartment to the ground when the Cubs strand runners in scoring position. Well, that last sentence isn’t true, but I don’t want to break my computer when my WiFi is going to slow.

I'm also not quite as worried about the problems of the future. I'm able to settle into the life I' living today.

If that isn’t progress, I don’t know what is.

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Tomorrow’s Post: My Daily Walk.