No time for Source?

I recently had a discussion with a friend about having enough time to meditate. Lots of people start, and almost as many give up. My friend was at such a place and really couldn't figure out how to fit meditation in what all the other "practical" things that he had to do. This immediately struck a chord in me. "You're right," I thought, "most people see meditating as something extra, something good to do if you've got the time. That is, not practical." But what those who give up in the initial stages of meditation – or presumably many other practices that lead to access to Source – is that once it's stabilized it becomes amazingly practical. Let me give a couple of examples. The simplest practical application of concentration meditation is everyday work. The fact is that concentration skills developed with one object – say the breath – are easily transferrable to other objects. I now rarely miss a day with my meditation, but sometimes I have to wait until the evening to get to it. And on those days, like today unfortunately, I can clearly notice how much harder it is to keep the mind on the task at hand, how much more effort is required to write or think or keep myself composed in a difficult conversation, or to determine which tasks a really the most important. If, on the other hand, I meditate in the morning and no children come and shake me out of my practice, then everything becomes so much easier. Work is easy, the writing is clear, important tasks rise to the top and the day just flows so much better. For me, meditation is a key ingredient to a good workday.

Meditation also strongly influences the quality of my interactions with others. The sense of clarity and stability that concentration meditation infuses the mind with makes it much easier to listen to others with a clear mind, to allow time for others to speak, and to give myself the mental space to wait for a genuine and reasoned response. When that clarity and stability are missing I'm much less patient, much less able to listen deeply, and much more likely to communicate poorly with those around me, be they my children, my wife, my colleagues, or just random strangers.

The point is that connecting to Source, finding a practice that allows one to build some modicum of mental clarity and stability, should not be seen as a luxury, as a great bonus if you have the time. It is an investment – of effort, of faith, and of time – but one which I promise has a strongly positive rate of return­ . . . if you let it mature.