year of fun

After finishing wrapping gifts, coordinating my schedule, planning for a meeting, researching restaurants for our first married Christmas, and cleaning the whole apartment, I needed a moment of zen. While I’ve never tried meditation before nor have I read anything about it, I decided to see if I could just do it. I set my phone timer for 10 minutes (that I figured would seem like an eternity), sat in an alert yet comfortable position and closed my eyes.

At first, my mind was all over the place, so to quiet it, I came up with my own mantra. I don’t really know where it came from, except maybe all the Christmas music I’ve been listened to. “Joy to you, Joy to me, Joy to the World.” I repeated it in my head over and over slowly until I was simply relaxed. I was aware of house sounds around me and wanted desperately to check on the timer, but I kept my eyes closed for the full 10 minutes. And now I feel quite relaxed. I’ve heard people use meditation to control arthritis pain as well. I may have to try it again/longer. And maybe read about some methods or mantras. Or just stick with Joy.