In our fast-moving world, it’s important to learn how to slow down, be mindful, and ground yourself in the present moment. Practicing meditation is a wonderful pathway to stillness, but it can feel overwhelming to know where to start. It may not come easy at first, but with these simple tips you can learn how to sit quietly and meditate even though you could be on Wikipedia learning literally everything about the ancient yet ever-relevant technology that is the magnificent crane. Here we go!
Focus on your breath
Feel the gentle response of your body with each deep inhale and exhale. It’s okay if your mind begins to wander; acknowledge thoughts, then let them go. For example, thoughts like, “Why am I sitting here doing nothing when I have a handheld computer with instantaneous access to the etymology, history, and mechanical principles of cranes?” That is such a good question, but let it go. You’re breathing, something your body just naturally does anyway, instead of learning that the first crane was the shadouf, a water irrigation lever invented in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) in 3000 BCE. 3000 BCE! That is fascinating. But no, yeah, focus on your breath.
Feel the weight of your body
Ground yourself in the present by feeling the weight of your feet against the floor or your back against your chair. They say that knowledge is power, and by now you could have learned literally everything about the depiction of cranes in Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s paintings of the Tower of Babel, and then you could have gone to the Wikipedia page of the Tower of Babel and read up on its place in biblical history debates, and you’d just be full of fascinating and invigorating information. But also, feeling your feet on the floor is power or something.
Clarify your intention
Clarity of intention will help keep you on the right path. Jib, gantry, bulk-handling, and crawler are all terms you would intimately understand by now if you had used this time to learn everything about cranes on Wikipedia. In a way, it’s almost as though by learning the history of cranes, you come to learn the history of culture, society, and humanity itself, therefore developing a greater appreciation and humility for your own place within it. But that’s not the path you chose and that’s fine. Feeling grounded yet?
So use these tips to try and meditate, even though you’ll probably just end up thinking about what groceries you need to buy and what emails you need to respond to, and you COULD have learned everything about cranes. Namaste.
