As a longtime meditator, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the value of taking time to pause during a busy day in a formal, intentional way — aka, meditating.
Taking a step back from the rush of activity held demonstrable value giving a bit of breathing room to make more deliberate and well-thought-out choices. This fit well as a counter to my misguided identification as a busy person when the realities of being constantly on the go had solidified into a self identification I was proud of, and even craved.
It was something I noticed in others, too: with meetings booked back-to-back, four or five in a row, many of my co-workers opened meetings with a statement about having a hard stop or having to leave early for… another meeting. All of this was a clear and present validation of how in demand we were, and that itself encouraged us to remain in a constant state of doing. Pausing provided the necessary break to that unhealthy cycle of rushed activity and failed attempts to multitask.
I was wrong. Not about having a pause, but rather how I was…
