Why meditation looks difficult?
There are many reasons but only one appears genuine.
Meditation practice can appear challenging to many of us.
Mostly when we focus on the most common hindrances such as:
- being annoyed by noises outside or inside our house;
- the constant stream of thoughts in our head;
- easily getting bored because we’ve been told to meditate not less than half an hour each day;
- not finding the real purpose of meditation;
- being irritated by how our body reacts to tickle, tiny muscular tensions, little pains due to the posture and so forth.
Why do people say meditation is hard?
When we really dislike being involved in something we don’t find interesting or useful, we tend to find hundreds of excuses such as:
- My days are hectic.
- I’m too stressed.
- I’ve got no time.
- I can’t stop thinking.
- I can’t relax.
- My mind can’t be still.
- Too many distractions in my house, the dog, my wife, my husband, kids.
- I don’t see the purpose of meditation.
- I’m no good at sitting still even for a few minutes.
- I’m not really interested in wasting my time doing nothing.
- It’s just a New Age craze.
Did you find yourself in one of these affirmations? Welcome to the club along with millions of people around the world who don’t practise meditation for one of those reasons.
Having summarized some of the most common reasons people tell themselves to avoid practising meditation, here’s the only reason I find meaningful.
Why do people say meditation is difficult?
Our world, the lifestyle of millions of people both in the Western and Eastern world, what we call the modern society isn’t simply ready just to stop for a few minutes, sitting still and focusing only on being.
This is a world of people “doing”, instead of people “being”.
Sit on a chair, at home or in the office, inside your car in an empty car loft, on a cushion on the floor, in a dignified posture for 3 minutes once a day or as soon as you find a couple of minutes for yourself wherever you are; pay attention to the air coming in and coming out the body thanks to the breath; let your mind progressively become more still or let your thoughts come and go without being judging them and not judging yourself and your reactions or gestures of the body.
That’s what meditation is all about: doing nothing for a while and just “being”.
You don’t have to achieve any special state of mind, sooner or later you won’t be enlightened and like in miracles your life becomes wonderful, all the unhappiness vanishes and you go from rags to riches because all the power of the Universe is within you.
This is why meditation seems difficult: we are used to doing something to achieve an end.
We have acquired a functional approach, life is made up of events, actions, choices that must lead to a result which has to be clear, attainable, measurable and possible.
Indeed, we demonize those who do not achieve results in the course of life. Anyone who is unsuccessful is a loser. Whoever fails to complete a task is a procrastinator, an underachiever.
I’m deeply persuaded that this is the reason why people find meditation difficult and useless: they don’t understand its purpose in the first place. And when we don’t understand why we have to sit still for a few minutes without achieving something everyone can recognise, approve and celebrate there’s no point in wasting our time.
