(((((((((((sawe))))))))))))

You CAN'T fail at a mindfulness exercise.

Part of mindfulness is just being with what's there. Maybe what's there is a weariness, or a tiredness, or a feeling of wanting to just stop for now. Maybe it's something else. WHATEVER it is, it's okay.

I do a lot of meditation, and when I get to places that are really hard (for me, it's panic attacks), I try to sit with it just a little bit longer. So, if I reach a place where I just want to get up and walk away, I ask myself if I can sit with it for 10 more breaths, or whatever.

The amazing thing, for me, about mindfulness, is the clarity it gives me that EVERYTHING CHANGES. My feelings WILL change. Even sitting through an itch during meditation has shown me that....if I have an itch and don't scratch it...just watch it...eventually it fades. Who knew? I thought the only way to stop itching was by scratching. It turns out just waiting also makes it go away.

It's the same with emotions. We don't HAVE to get up and leave. We can stay, and eventually, they will change too.

I've been meditating for years and it's still very VERY hard for me to sit through stuff I'm uncomfortable with. I go to a group on Thursdays and that kind of "forces" me to sit for 15 minutes....at home, it's much easier to just get up and leave, and I *do* get up and leave sometimes.

Being where we're at is not not NOT failing. It's just being where we're at, and it's okay.

YOU are okay, sawe