Drop by Drop

Drop by Drop

Mindfulness and meditation can make a profound difference in your life and in consciousness. If you approach it correctly, you can enjoy the process right away, and even feel some immediate benefit and relief. However, if you are expecting profound change overnight, you may get frustrated. You may wonder if you are doing it wrong, and be tempted to give up on the process.

Don’t give up.

In many ways, mindfulness and meditation are like a jug under a slowly dripping faucet. Each time you practice represents another drop in the jug. If you focus on the amount of water you have acquired as you begin the practice, it may not seem like a lot. But all of a sudden, you look again, and you realize your jug is full to overflowing.

The Buddha says his practice is pleasant in the beginning, pleasant in the middle, pleasant in the end. Approach the practice as a thing of joy. “Ah, now I get to meditate! Ah, let me tune in to what is going on around me and inside me.” Don’t be like gardeners who plant their seeds and then keep digging them up to measure the growth.