At yesterday's meditation class, my teacher talked about being kinder to yourself. This is
something I'm not very good at.
I have very high expectations. I also disappoint myself easily. It doesn’t take much for me to beat myself up. I’m trying to learn not to do this. I’m finding that practicing meditation daily is starting to help.
At the end of our class we had a little chat on the subject and I mentioned an example I felt was relevant. Sometimes, like most people, I’ll be running late. I’ll be on the train into London for a casting or a rehearsal and, for whatever reason, I didn’t make the train I wanted to catch. I’ll spend the entire journey looking at my watch and getting stressed.
“I’m late, I’m late, I’m late” goes the mantra in my head.
I was doing this a few months ago, when it suddenly dawned on me that I wasn’t late yet. I was painting a mental picture of all the people disappointed with my tardiness, forgetting that no-one knew about it yet. It hadn’t happened and it might not. If it did, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
(If it was the end of the world, it was unlikely to be my fault.)
The trick is to be prepared. Do what you can to make yourself feel comfortable. If things occasionally do go wrong, accept them and move on.
The meditation teacher kept using the phrase ‘ease of being’ last night. That’s something I want to cultivate. Why create so many mental barriers that only make your day-to-day life more difficult?
I’m still late occasionally, by the way.
I have very high expectations. I also disappoint myself easily. It doesn’t take much for me to beat myself up. I’m trying to learn not to do this. I’m finding that practicing meditation daily is starting to help.
At the end of our class we had a little chat on the subject and I mentioned an example I felt was relevant. Sometimes, like most people, I’ll be running late. I’ll be on the train into London for a casting or a rehearsal and, for whatever reason, I didn’t make the train I wanted to catch. I’ll spend the entire journey looking at my watch and getting stressed.
“I’m late, I’m late, I’m late” goes the mantra in my head.
I was doing this a few months ago, when it suddenly dawned on me that I wasn’t late yet. I was painting a mental picture of all the people disappointed with my tardiness, forgetting that no-one knew about it yet. It hadn’t happened and it might not. If it did, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
(If it was the end of the world, it was unlikely to be my fault.)
The trick is to be prepared. Do what you can to make yourself feel comfortable. If things occasionally do go wrong, accept them and move on.
The meditation teacher kept using the phrase ‘ease of being’ last night. That’s something I want to cultivate. Why create so many mental barriers that only make your day-to-day life more difficult?
I’m still late occasionally, by the way.