Day 66: The Glitter Jar

There is an old Buddhist saying that goes something like, “If you have time, sit for one hour a day. If not, sit for two hours.”

If you burst out laughing at the prospect of spending two hours sitting in silence at this point in life, you’re not alone.

So let’s take the principle and drop the numbers.

When we are feeling behind the eight ball in all things over the course of the day, this is the time when we most need to stop. Look at the schedule. Do you really need to do all the things? NEED to?

If not, cut them out. Having an infant, it turns out, is the perfect excuse for this if a commitment involves other people.

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While it doesn’t always feel this way, you are the designer of your day.

Then, instead of filling that space with mindless internet surfing, consider giving your mind a rest. An extended rest. Make some tea and drink the whole thing with your attention trained on its sweet warmth and complex flavors. Lay down on the couch and slowly scan the body, from bottom to top and top to bottom. Instead of just taking one or two minutes, take ten or twenty or, gasp, a half hour, to train your attention.

When I work with kids, I like to show them a glitter jar. I talk about how sometimes we feel out of control, like everything is spinning. I swirl the jar and we watch the glitter get kicked up and spin madly. Then, I stop it spinning and we watch. And watch. And watch. At first, there’s no impact. The glitter continues to spin. But as we still the jar, we still our minds, and the glitter slows, and then one by one falls to the bottom. If we remain still long enough, the glitter falls to the bottom, and the liquid becomes clear once again.

So hold still. Longer than you think you might need. The glitter will land, if you give it time.