Small Steps

“The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step”

Lao Tzu

Probably one of the greatest lessons I’ve learnt in my spiritual practice over the past few years is ‘baby steps’.

I mean, I’ve sprouted this phrase a million times in my life (well, maybe not a million- but a lot! 😉 ), and it’s an easy concept to grasp. Small steps towards a goal gets you to the goal eventually. Logical!

But, over the past 18 months in particular, it’s been the ‘secret sauce’ to improving my meditation.

It all started when my Qi Gong teacher said quite casually, it just takes 3 minutes a day.

In my head I’m like…. What?!

3 minutes? I’ve been thinking I need to start at 10 minutes for it to be of any use. And sitting still for 10 minutes was such a hurdle for me (I’m a little bit of a wriggler!)

And, if I lie down to meditate for 10 minutes? Well, let’s just say there’ll be sleep!

But, 3 minutes?

I can do that…. surely!

So, I started. At first, 3 minutes felt like an eternity but because I knew it was only 3 minutes – not much time at all – I kept going.

Some days I only stayed still for 1 minute.

Some days, 3 minutes wasn’t too much torture.

Then I got smart and realized that I could use sound to help me. I’d thought meditation had to be in silence to be effective, but I was attending sound baths and realized just how oriented I am to certain sounds - Tibetan monks chanting, sound bowls, nature inspired meditation music. (I now use the Insight Timer app which has so many choices.)

After a while of feeling comfy with 3 minutes, I challenged myself to 5 minutes! A little more adjustment. A little more checking the clock. A little more wriggling.

But, somewhere along the way, I found myself staying in the practice EVEN when the music stops.

I’m finding myself resting comfortably in meditation for 15 minutes…or more!! AND…it only feels like 3 minutes!!

So, next time you want to try a new thing, and you’re finding it difficult to carve out the time or stay with it, just start small.

Small steps every day gets you there quicker than you think!