Finding peace the old-fashioned way.

The charms of jamming old school.

Picture taken by author

Everyone knows how it feels to be overwhelmed. We think about how badly something went yesterday while worrying about an unpleasant issue that needs to be dealt with tomorrow. Sometimes we get blindsided by disturbing news about a loved one’s health when we’re already stressed out over our own health. And worrying about money always keeps people from sleeping well. There’s no end to the list of things we worry about, but knowing we only have a limited amount of time to live, how many of our moments should be spent worrying? As I’ve grown older, life has blessed me with more things to worry about, so finding a way to navigate through excessive anxiety became critical. That’s why I’m grateful I found my way back to meditation, a practice that’s been around for thousands of years.

I bought my first book on meditation in 1985, intending to learn how to do it then. As an undisciplined 21-year-old who had already developed a destructive appetite for alcohol, I wasn’t able to get beyond just reading about the benefits. In those days, meditation wasn’t nearly as common, and books from Hindu or Buddhist authors were the only resource I could find. I was inspired by the reading I did back then, but alcohol was too powerful of a distraction.