Learning To Be Still

I've never been one to sit in one place for too long nor am I one that you might consider laid back and relaxed. I have a bad habit of pacing now and then or taking little strips of paper and rolling them and re-rolling them (yeah, I know...it's weird...) Anyhow, one activity that I have learned to apply that helps calm my jitters is meditation. It took me a long time to train myself to sit quietly and go within, I'd catch my mind wandering and have to guide it back time and again. Guided meditations are excellent ways to harness the attention span until you feel able to meditate with out the mental wandering. Many times I would have days were I felt like my little internal rubber band was wound so tight it might snap and I always chalked it up to "just my personality" but then one day it hit me, I can choose not to feel like that if I want to... I didn't have to go around so stressed out that the family pets left the room. I feel much calmer after a meditation and able to handle life's little irritations (and we all know some days can be a challenge.) I don't snap at people in the middle of the isle at the grocery store anymore (although, you have to admit, taking up the whole isle is rather rude) and the sense of peace I feel after meditation is terrific. Usually, I try to wake earlier than the household and do a morning ritual of grounding and centering which helps me get connected to mother earth and then I will follow that with another meditation that I like to use to set the pace and tone for the day. At night before I go to bed I also like to spend about a half an hour just meditating on the positive and practicing my gratitude for the blessings in my life.