Sunday, November 3, 2019

The power of meditation and the silliness of serendipity


Today while waiting in line at Sprouts to buy my lunch I decided to be mindful - to focus on the present moment, kindly, nonjudgmentally taking note of my feelings and thoughts, and do a little walking (standing in line) meditation. As I took my first deep breath and allowed my focus to set in on my state of being I could feel anxiety rising in my belly.  I had looked over at the other line that I didn't get into and noticed that it was shorter.  I looked over again and the person I would have been behind was being rung up while I still had two people in front of me.  I heard the thought, I should have gotten into the other line. I focused on my breath and the anxiety; I noticed jealousy, jealous of the few extra minutes that my alternate-reality self would have had. Thoughts and feelings swam around, thought, I had made a mistake, I was missing out.  These feelings and thoughts were powerful reminders of how often I operate outside of the present moment.  I focused in on the present moment noticing the clerk at the register in front of me checking a $100 bill she had been given for authenticity. Then the person in front of me was being served. I stayed focused on my breath. And now I am here present with the clerk.

As I turned to leave I was looking down at my wallet and I had to stop as I almost ran into the person leaving from the other register.  It was the woman I would have been behind, the one that had gotten to the register while I was still waiting in my line.  I left her pass in front of me and a smile burst across my face. How silly of me to have worried in the first place, I had chosen the faster line (and missed out on an extra minute or two of meditation).