FF Segment #3: On Meditation

Instead of my usual yoga routine, today I decided to try something a little outside of my comfort zone. This afternoon I rolled out my mat, sat cross-legged in the middle, and meditated for half an hour. True story. Although "meditated" sounds all New Age and shit. And maybe it is. But I sat on my mat in the middle of a noisy afternoon, and gave myself just one simple goal today: to focus on my own breathing for half an hour's time. Inhale. Exhale. In and out. In and out. In...and out. 
I sat there meditating, and of course things inevitably started to run through my mind at first. I thought about what I ate for lunch (homemade mac and cheese that I made last night, pretty darn good). What I was going to eat for dinner (probably the same thing). The book I'm reading. The weather (no joke). My resume (and how I haven't even looked at it). An upcoming date. How my throat felt scratchy. Other inconsequential, random things. After a while, though, I just stopped thinking and drifted off into a neutral place, continuing to breathe methodically. I listened to the afternoon going by. And I steadily tuned myself out of the picture.
I opened my eyes much later, and I couldn't stop smiling. It was pure joy, I think, reveling in the completion of such an easy yet overlooked task. What a simple happiness! The best thing of all was that I felt so indescribably full. I'm learning to not be so hard on myself sometimes, to take things in stride. And, at the risk of sounding cheesy, to just breathe.