When deciding on the subject for my monthly five-minute writing tip, I scan the list of bizarre, special, and unique holidays for the month. The holiday that caught my attention this month was Garden Meditation Day celebrated on May 3. I don’t have a garden, but my home is surrounded by trees, flowering plants, a bay, and mountains, so my neighborhood is my garden. I started meditating daily a couple of months ago. It is part of my quest to shift gears, change my way of thinking and make those items on my writing bucket list a reality. I have so many works in progress that it’s been hard to concentrate on completing any of them.

Meditation was suggested in a book I’d read, so I decided to give it a shot, even though I wasn’t keen on the idea, but it was easy—I don’t have to go anywhere or buy anything. I bookmarked a meditation link, put in my ear buds, let go of random thoughts, and focused on my “vision.” That “vision” isn’t my works in progress, but the end result of what I expect to gain from them once they are completed.

What resulted quickly were negative thoughts poking me like the prongs of the devil’s pitchfork, and I realized that this nagging negativity was the primary reason I was having difficulty focusing and making decisions. It wasn’t so important to know why this was happening, as much as doing something about it. And so I began working on releasing those thoughts. After a few weeks the clutter in my mind began to clear and the nighttime negativity lessened.

I focused on what was important to me, and what I learned was that faith in myself was weaker than it needed to be, so more work ensued. Soon the work became less arduous and more like a pleasant daily ritual. Then, things really started to happen and I felt myself moving in the right direction. With the excitement, opportunities seemed to rush toward me like an asteroid whirling down from space. Was this a good thing? Had I opened Pandora’s box? Was the fear I felt natural or unrealistic? Again, I had to calm my mind and take my meditation on faith to another level. I had to let go of my fears and doubts, hush those negative voices, surrender to something much bigger than myself.

Some days it’s easy, others it’s like wading through mud. When looking back on the past two months, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made and looking forward to the next step—stay tuned.