march: what’s bringing me calm

1. Coming back to sitting mediation

I know, I know, people can’t be “bad” at mediation. But I’ve tried sitting mediation on many occasions, and–trust me–I am not great at it. I’ve made daily walks in some kind of nature a much more consistent habit, and the movement combined with the nature helps calm my mind. But I’ve always wanted a regular sitting practice, too. Since I’ve dipped in and out of trying sitting meditation in the past, this may very well be yet another dip, but I think it’ll be worth a try. Anyone with meditation resources, feel free to share. I like Headspace, Calm, Tara Brach, Monique Rhodes, The Honest Guys, Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart–but if you have other recommendations on resources, books, etc., feel free to share.

2. Reading Maria Popova’s Figuring

I’ve been a reader of Maria Popova’s Brainpickings project for the past decade or so now. It’s a beautiful example of what I think the internet can aspire to on its best days. So, I was excited and eager to read her book, Figuring, which you can read more about by following the link above. It’s a beautifully written book tying together history, science, feminism, and being queer. I also had the joy of requesting my local library purchase a copy, which I’m reading now, but when it goes back to the library, of course, others will get to read it, too.

3. Listening to this On Being episode about pandemic anxiety

I’ve realized that, even as life returns to “normal” during the pandemic, that I’m still steeped in anxiety. I’m stressed about how thing will change and how to handle the change. Even as my logical mind watches the numbers of positive cases improve, watches how more people are getting vaccinated–I still find myself struggling with how to shift out of the intense hypervigilance I’ve felt in the past year. This podcast helped me understand why that might be expected.