Toilet paper and Meditation

No toilet paper. 

It’s been a hard week, made even harder because there’s no toilet paper to buy. Is it just me or does it seem like the miracle coronavirus cure is a stockpile of Charmin on the ready? Who knew??  For some reason that’s what’s supposed to make us feel better, and evidently its working because the shelves are empty. To me it feels unsettling to learn after all these years that toilet tissue is the key to well-being, especially in a time of crisis.

What can we really do?

One action that actually makes a difference is to take care of our minds. I think it’s important to get our minds under control and especially what’s consuming our thinking. Mediation is my number one go to. For me and countless others it develops the ability to manage thoughts and calm the limbic system. That’s important right now because a majority inputs coming at us promote uncertainty, anxiety and fear (these erode well-being). Through mediation we develop the ability to harness our thinking and the strength to refocus it. It’s then, that we’re on our way to a better mind state and mindset, which can lead to calmer emotions and a better outlook. We need these to not to just feel that we’re going to be ok, but to be able to do so with confidence.

What makes this doubly important is that without our even realizing it we often draw conclusions that were never made or suggested by the information we’ve taken in. Our brains are the culprits because they stitch together information in a way that helps us make sense of it – the brain is wired to fill in gaps and leap to conclusions. For this reason, in general and especially in this moment, getting our minds under control is essential to our well-being and overall health.