All Moms Have Time to “Meditate”

We all have plenty of time to meditate. Now, before you get mad, hear me out.

Like me, you probably have a list of excuses and reasons why it just “doesn’t fit into your schedule.” I told myself the same thing for a long time.

You probably recognize excuses such as, “I can’t get up that early” or “my kids are involved in so many activities!” Or perhaps, “if I close my eyes to meditate, I’ll probably just fall asleep!”

The truth is, we’re all busy. We’re moms. Need I say more? But in addition, most days, we’re trying to be SUPERmom. That that in and of itself is no small undertaking. Many moms have additional titles – wife, daughter, employee or business owner, or maybe someone who’s working from home or has joined a company doing online sales with a product or company they love.

And, some of us wear ALL these titles.

At the end of the day, we all get 24 hours. We all have the same amount of time each day to accomplish the things on our entire list. And let’s face it, if you’re anything like me, “meditation” doesn’t often make its way to the top of the list.

Rewind three years. I was single, lived in a gorgeous apartment, had no kids (other than my giant dog), and had all the freedom in the world. While I had a couple of businesses and several employees to be accountable to, I primarily only had to “manage” myself. My office teams have always been amazing. But back in these single-without-kids days, I’d wake up early (4am) and spend an hour meditating. And yeah, some days I fell asleep. But other days, my body was vibrating on a whole new level – and the amount I was able to accomplish in a day seemed extraordinary. I had laser-focus, I couldn’t be distracted, and it felt amazing.

Life changes. I wouldn’t trade it back for anything – those days are ancient history. While I still somehow manage to get almost everything accomplished that needs to be done – I find myself trying to squeeze in all the “extras” when I can. For instance, there are no less than 100 neon plastic straws and an entire package of colored pencils strewn around my office floor as I type this. My daughter finally fell asleep on this same floor, half lying on the dog, who seems rather unimpressed but too tired to relocate.

So, I’ve finally had to succumb to the fact that most days – true “meditation” isn’t going to make it to the top of the list. One day, I’ll choose to put it there again, but for now, I’m taking a new approach. I’ve redefined “meditation” in a way that works for me and my current kind of “busy”.” I refuse to admit defeat and claim “I don’t have time,” but rather, meditate in a new way that give me much the same feeling as it used to.

Meditation: the act of being fully and completely present in the moment, with the people in front of you.

Seems easy, right? It is until I realize that my daughter is asking me to hold her hand, “mom, hand,” read her a book, “mom, boop,” or get her a snack, chanting “hummus! hummus!” all while I’m finishing up an email response. Not cool, mom – not cool. This is not meditation.

So, as with true meditation, this version too will require practice. At the end of the day, those meditation moments will be worth it. Being present truly is a gift. As I’ve returned to this idea time after time over the last few months, I’ve worked to be more conscious of physically, mentally, and emotionally being in the same place at once. This morning, I snuggled up next to my daughter on the couch as she took a quick morning snooze. All I could notice was the hint of a smile on her face and the beautiful curls on top of her head. In that meditation moment, I would have rather been nowhere else.

When you really think about, I mean REALLY examine our day and time expenditures, do we have time NOT to meditate this way?