There are days like today when I feel absolutely overwhelmed by everything in my life. All of that wonderful fullness and busyness that I have chosen and worked so hard to bring into my life can become a burden. It is at those times when I close my eyes and meditate over my mala beads.
I have always loved the idea of meditation, but until I found the method of using mala beads, I had a hard time making the practice regular. There is something reassuring about the physicality of the beads and the fact that there is only 108. I’m sure these things sooth my Western monkey-mind. I won’t get sucked into hours of meditation, nor will I be lost, sitting there, not knowing what to do. Perhaps someday I will advance to a less physical form of meditating, but for now, the mala beads help keep me on track.
Tonight I turned to my beads and they reminded me of the simplest tool when you are feeling overwhelmed: just do one thing. I don’t know why it’s so easy to forget this simple phrase. You can’t do everything at once, and yet my mind gets overwhelmed trying to think about everything at once. But by just thinking about and doing one thing at a time, anything can be accomplished. You can move giant piles of dirt just one shovel at a time.
Aaahhh…I feel so much better. Thank you mala beads. Om namah shivaya.
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