No, it’s not pizza – it’s feeling the air in and out of my nostrils. But when pizza is in the air it’s hard to focus on the breath…

I’m a lapsed meditator but after running on empty for a few weeks, maybe months, years, can’t remember, I have recommitted to my meditation practice. I’ve experienced the benefits of mindfulness meditation before and know life makes much more sense when I live it in the present tense – meditation is the food I need for the journey back to the present.

I know creating the headspace to live in the present is not easy. I’ve tried before and failed so now I’m going to do things differently. Tonight I made a conscious decision to stop the evening madness. Got home at 6:30pm with the kids, gave them a few rice crackers and went for a quick walk with the dog. I went barefoot as I really needed to walk on the grass and feel the energy of the earth. Dinner was easy, just takeaway pizza and salad. Earlier today I had done 10 minutes of Headspace on the train on the way home, then, a walk meditation from the station to the school. And I’m going to bed early.

But not every night can be like tonight. Some nights I need to work, others there is homework or something else will come up. Still, I want to be present to what I’m doing and to how I’m feeling instead of being lost in thoughts while rushing from task to task on a race that usually takes me nowhere.

Regardless of where the journey takes me I’m going to take a detour to the present moment – that’s the only place I need to go anyway. But I’ll need fuel for the journey, I’ll never get there on an empty tank. So I’m making time to practice meditation, not only on the train when I have a few minutes to spare. I’m making the effort to wake up earlier, just 10 minutes to get started, and I’ll be going on a ‘day of silence’ practice on Sunday. Hopefully this will set me in the right direction. Wish me luck.