Stepping outside each day, we must remind ourselves: we are students.
We must hold the curiosity of a child at the zoo for the first time. This is what meditation cultivates—a sense of wonder, a return to our natural state of learning.
At its core, meditation is about building a relationship with breath. Much of our anxiety comes from shallow, erratic breathing—a pattern learned through stress, trauma, and social conditioning. Poor breathing keeps us locked in fight-or-flight mode.
Commitment and Progress - Most new practitioners expect rapid transformation. A few weeks, a few months—surely by then, meditation should have fixed everything.
But when obsessive thoughts persist, when change seems slow, many abandon the practice.
This is common—especially for those with little exposure to experienced meditators. In the East, meditation is woven into daily life. In modern cities, it is an afterthought.
Understand this: once you commit to meditation, you must wait as long as it takes.
Sometimes, you will feel like a dull, unsharpened knife. Do not cling to the need for instant results. Instead, examine your practice, refine it, and remain patient.
There is always more work to do. We must always be vigilant against old patterns, old habits, old ways of thinking.
Even lifelong monks in their most tranquil settings must continue to meditate daily.
Because life takes work.
And no matter how far we go, we will always have to breathe.