Meditation Gas

In one of my darkest moments I had a conversation with a colleague, who was on the other side of the emotional swing. While I was wallowing in self pity and depression, he was on top of the world. "I fucking love my life right now" he said. "My business ideas are flourishing, I have matured and quit smoking, everything is wonderful".

"Do you exercise?" I asked.

"No, but I meditate" he answered. "Every morning, I spend 15 minutes breathing and thinking about my day, my plans and my actions".

My first reaction was appreciation with a touch of healthy envy. 'what a mature approach to life from this guy'.

I must say, one of my sins is judgement. A constant lesson to my children is that, if something makes you happy and you don't hurt anyone else, it does not matter what anyone else thinks of it. The same goes for others. If it makes them happy and doesn't hurt anyone – it is none of your business to judge or interrupt.

However, as an exercise in thought I was reflecting on those statements.

Was he meditating? Or was he basking? And again, while it matters not one bit what I think he's doing as long as it makes him happy, I like exploring the limits of self-deception.

What is the difference between self-reflection and basking?

To me, the difference lies in the state in which the person in question enacts those behaviors. In other words, when everything is going well, it is very easy – not to say even fun – to remember, explore and bask in your so-called success. And calling it meditation is simply self aggrandizing.

Now let me elaborate. My colleague had recently come into money. A lot of money. A result of some investment in cryptocurrency, reliable advice and lots of luck. He further had been recovering from crippling anxiety attacks which rendered him nearly incapable of leaving his apartment. With a newly born child and all financial concerns resolved, he was now investing, actively living, eating well and bestowing advice on poor souls like myself still caught in the throes of depression.

Now, I do not want to take anything away from someone who climbed out of their own hole, as it is a harrowing task and an admirable one. And any action taken towards self-betterment is a welcome one. But I do have a particular issue with the meditating and self-reflecting part.

When one "reflects and meditates" on his life at the mountain peak of it, it is important to consider or know whether the same person would do the same when he or she are at the bottom of the ocean as well.

Taking the time in a day to quietly think and breathe is unquestionably a good thing to do, no matter the reason or outcome. And it is good advice.

But to anyone being preached to, or feeling envious of others more "enlightened" than they are, or simply as a thought exercise, I urge you to think:

What are you really breathing? The open air or your own farts?

And what am I breathing, spending so much of it on someone else's thoughts?