You know when I thought about the topic for this blog?
WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FREAKING MEDITATING.
Right now, I’m primarily using this app called ‘Calm,’ which is not that bad. The free features are perfect for a beginner like me to keep busy I mean CALM. After a couple of weeks, I decided to actually pay(!?!?) for the whole app, and I’m surprisingly glad I did. There are meditations for everything. And for each category, you can choose what length of time works best for you.
My favorite feature is the sleep stories. They’ re just someone reading a story in a soothing voice. Sometimes it’s super boring. Sometimes it’s a metaphor. Whatever. They’re great. There’s one non-fiction one that I have never been able to stay awake through! And there’s one fiction one about how cats basically came from dragons! LOVED IT!
Music can be a great source of comfort and inspiration when you’re feeling down.
Today’s song is: “Not Perfect” by Tim Minchin.
Listen to the song here:
Lyrics:
“This is my earth
And I live in it
It’s one third dirt and two thirds water
And it rotates and revolves through space
At rather an impressive pace
And never even messes up my hair.
And here’s the really weird thing
The force created by its spin
Is the force that stops the chaos flooding in.
This is my earth and it’s fine.
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect…
This is my country
And I live in it.
It’s pretty big and nice to walk on.
And the bloke who runs my country
Has built a demagoguery
And taught us to be fearful and boring.
And the weirdest thing is that he is
Conservative of politics
But really rather radical of eyebrows.
This is my country and it’s fine.
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect…
This is my house
And I live in it
It’s made of cracks and photographs.
We rent off a guy, who bought it from a guy,
Who bought it from a guy, whose granddad left it to him.
And the weirdest thing is that this house
Has locks to keep the baddies out
But they’re mostly used to lock ourselves in.
This is my house and it’s fine.
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
This is my body
And I live in it.
It’s thirty-one and six months old.
It’s changed a lot since it was new.
It’s done stuff it wasn’t built to do.
I often try to fill it up with wine.
And the weirdest thing about it is
I spend so much time hating it
But it never says a bad word about me.
This is my body and it’s fine.
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect…
This is my brain
And I live in it.
It’s made of love and bad song lyrics.
It’s tucked away behind my eyes
Where all my screwed up thoughts can hide
‘Cause god forbid I hurt somebody.
And the weirdest thing about a mind
Is that every answer that you find
Is the basis for a brand new cliche.
This is my brain and it’s fine.
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.
It’s not perfect, not quite sure I worked out how to work it.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine.”
Why this song’s so cool: Tim Minchin is so weird. He primarily does comedy, but this song, while still pretty funny it it’s own, subtle way, is actually pretty deep and inspirational.
Why this song’s helpful: Nothing is perfect, but we’re lucky to have what we have.
Chai tea in the mornings is a particular treat. I like to have chai tea on the mornings when I have the time to just sit comfortably and relax. Coffee is for mornings where I’m in a hurry and breakfast is synonymous with multi-tasking. But chai tea days are those special and cherished leisurely mornings where you can breathe deeply, eat slowly, and appreciate your surroundings. More days should be chai tea days. It’s caffeine – it’s energy, but still it somehow relaxes me while simultaneously preparing and motivating me to be productive without emphatically worrying about being productive.
A while back, I took a tai chi class through Pierce College continuing education. It was in the morning. On Saturdays. While I really enjoyed it, I sadly did not attend every class. It was in the morning. On Saturdays. ugh.
However, on the days that I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and participated, I found the class to be really relaxing and fun. I liked the explanations of the patterned movements, and the fact that everything meant something. The practice required just enough focus to feel like meditation, while not so much brainpower was needed to make it overwhelming and exhausting. It was challenging, but not overly so. It was, surprisingly harder than I thought it would be – requiring strong, steady, slow, and, to an extent, precise muscle movement is not as easy as it looks! But still, it made me feel solid and strong as well as surprisingly graceful. Even though we were all beginners, when we started to get used to the pattern, and were executing the movements in sync, it was fun to feel like a part of something bigger – like our energies were all working together to make something beautiful and meaningful.
But, for me, Tai Chi is a practice more easily initiated in the evening. Mornings are hard for me already, as an impatient insomniac, so I feel like that likely detracted significantly from my enjoyment and motivation. In the evenings, when preparing for bed, Tai Chi can help slow the racing thoughts by slowing the body and having something on which to focus – it’s a peaceful strengthening routine that prepares my body for a more efficient resting of the mind and body. So for me, the best way to appreciate and benefit from this calming and centering exercise, is to practice Tai Chi in the evenings.
Want to know more about Tai Chi? Here’s a beginner’s guide:
