100%

The baby steps of my meditation practice took a slightly longer stride today.  I went from the five-minute session length I’ve been doing all month to a whopping ten minutes!  Five minutes has been very doable and it’s felt good to feel successful in time, even when the content of the sessions are still a bit more meandering than I think they should be.

So, how did it feel to “sit” for ten minutes?  It was definitely longer.  At the end of my five-minute sessions, the first thing I do is wipe my watery eyes.  Today, the water eventually spilled over and I felt a single tear slide very slowly down my left cheek.  Rather than wipe it away, I let it go and focused on the tear and the feeling of it sliding down my cheek.  A little later, I realized my arms had become heavier – or maybe it was lighter.  Remember when you were a kid and you’d stand it a doorway, pressing the backs of both hands against the doorjamb?  When you stepped away from the door, your arms magically raised overhead.  That’s how my arms felt.  A little heavy, but as if they were going to begin to rise above my head at any moment.

I’ve been working myself up mentally to take the plunge and double my time – a 100% increase!  Doesn’t that sound good?  A 100% increase.  Even though this was only an additional five minutes out of my day, I think I will walk around today feeling just a little more accomplished, perhaps even a bit smug.