"I'm not releasing it until it's ready." I always said to myself.
That was before my original end of December goal date had passed and I still had weeks of work to do. That's when I began feeling the pressure.
For the most part, I created this pressure all by myself, but knowing that in the moment didn't do much to actually help me.
It all culminated one evening when I was recording a section of the audiobook. I was over 2/3 of the way done recording it and could feel the end finally drawing near.
It was then that I began to lock up. I mean literally lock up- I'd open my mouth and wouldn't be able to utter a word. It was one of the weirdest, and most frustrating, feelings I'd ever felt before.
Oddly enough, or rather fittingly, it was a regular meditation practice that helped me overcome the ordeal.
I got the idea- I was pushing myself too hard, something I'm usually keenly aware not to do, and needed to step away for a moment. And it was mindful breathing and going about the rest of the next 24 hours slowly in mindfulness that allowed me to completely recharge and get back to my usual self. The following night, I flew through the rest of the book smoothly.
No matter how much you work on yourself and no matter how much you think you've figured out, life will still throw you curveballs. But what truly matters isn't becoming invincible to these things or learning how to avoid them altogether, both impossible feats, what matters is what you do when these things happen.
There's no getting around it. No matter how much power, wisdom, or intelligence you have, gain, or develop you'll still experience adversity.
That was one of my primary reasons for creating Zen for Everyday Life. I wanted to create a resource which you could use to bring peace and joy to your life knowing that these adversities will still attempt to rear their ugly little heads. Especially for those of us living even semi-modern lives- with work, family, other responsibilities, and constant stimulus attempting to pull us this direction and that.
For this reason, Zen for Everyday Life was intended to be timeless as well as formless.
Timeless as in the principles don't just transcend time in a general sense, and have always been a path to peace and happiness, but also because the principles I discuss can be applied whether you're young or old and to the same effect.
And formless as in a resource which applied to all people no matter what race, gender, orientation, or set of beliefs. Zen for Everyday Life doesn't try to push a point of view on you, it simply shows you how to bring peace, joy, and a deep sense of meaning into your life as it is right now.
I hope you enjoy Zen for Everyday Life and look forward to hearing what you thought of the book:
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Zen for Everyday Life is a moment-to-moment mindfulness guide made to help you discover peace and happiness in your everyday life using more than 40 meditations and exercises. It’s a universal path to peace and joy made to complement your life as it is through the use of mindfulness.
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Peace,
Matt
