I think everyone wants to make their parents proud. I have always been a “good” kid. I would even say, I was and am- a bit of a goody goody. I know that my Dad loved me and was proud of me. But I wish he could see the self growth that I have had in the past few months since the pandemic began. During this time – I have kind of used it as a reset button to get my life in order- and work on me. I can’t fix all the terrible things around me. I only have control over myself.

I am from Boulder, Colorado. You can take a girl out of Boulder. But you can’t take the Boulder out of the girl. For those of you who don’t know what this means- Boulder is known for it’s health nuts, holistic, natural and outdoorsy hippie types. I didn’t realize how much like this I really am. And during this pandemic and while recovering from COVID-19 – I have fully embraced this side of me.

I have taken this time to really get into mindfulness and meditation. I started Oprah & Deepak 21 day meditation program and really found it helpful. I will admit I missed many days and didn’t get the full 21 days in. 😳. But I didn’t.give up. I now have completed Deepak 21 day Renew yourself mind, body and spirit. I think I am getting addicted to meditation and mindfulness. I now start and end my day with my meditation. I actually do the same meditation in the morning and repeat it at night. I find this helps me better absorb the lesson. I love starting and ending my day in a peaceful and relaxing way.

Meditation and Mindfulness reduce stress and anxiety. When I find myself starting to get stressed out, I am learning to take time to meditate. What I am finding, is that meditation 🧘‍♀️and mindfulness techniques have helped me better cope with the stressful parts of life. I am better able to remain calm and and not get as overwhelmed.. As tension rises I am learning to just relax, and meditate or be mindful and be in the moment.

If you are thinking- that is all fine and dandy Ms. Zen Girl. If you are thinking that you don’t have the attention or concentration to meditate. I can safely say- if I Sarah can learn to meditate -anyone can!

A good friend of mine once said to me “Sarah, I don’t think I have ever seen you sit still.” That statement has always stuck with me- I had never really been aware of this about myself. But it is true. I am always fidgeting or doing something.

I tried Centering Prayer Meditation classes with my Mom and Dad. I would sit there attempting to do meditation and find myself making my to do list, and getting bored and saying to myself “seriously, are we almost done? ”. Never in a million years would I think that this would be something that I would learn to love and find extremely helpful. My Dad would be so happy to see me getting peace from something that he and my Mom had introduced me to -and believed so strongly in. I believe that he is looking down on me from Heaven smiling. Who knows- maybe he is meditating 🧘‍♀️ along with me – or perhaps his spirit has been able to teach me. No matter the reason- I am grateful that I am learning how to handle the many stresses that life brings my way in a more graceful and positive way.

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Types of Meditation

Meditation 101 for beginners

Meditation apps

Distracted Men’s Journal of Meditation