This is the contact page. This is where I tell you how to reach me — but first, do me a favor.

Breathe

Take a comfortable seat. A chair, your bed, the floor, a cushion, crisscross applesauce, whatever you like, as long as you’re comfortable. You’re going to be here for 20 minutes. Twenty minutes is the least you can do for your mind and your body. There’s a reason most of my stories run about 20 minutes — each one is a meditation.

And don’t worry about the contact info. It’s here. Keep reading and you’ll find it.

Let’s breathe together. In, and out. You’re already doing it — all you have to do differently is notice. Do it with intention, or let your body do it on its own, but keep your mind on it. You’re breathing in and out and you’re aware of every breath. That’s it. Do that for 20 minutes.

Sounds boring? It’s not. It’s actually quite difficult. But Melvin, this is insane, I can’t sit here for 20 minutes, I’ve got things to do, people to see. And I’d answer that you clicked here to reach me, and this is how. Just breathe.

Of course your mind will wander. Everyone’s does. It’ll reach for the future, the past, anything at all to pull you off the breath. But it’s just a baby — don’t get angry with it. Every time you notice it’s wandered, you gently put it back, and you smile. You caught your mind doing its mind thing. Don’t judge it. Don’t indulge it. Don’t finish the thought. We can think about all of it later. Right now we’re here, and if you ever want to say something kind, it’s melrook@melrook.com, and right now we’re breathing.

Because that’s the whole practice. Meditation isn’t sitting there doing nothing, and it isn’t even sitting there thinking about your breath. Meditation is noticing your mind has wandered and putting it back. Again and again. Do that for 20 minutes.

Put a smile on your face — at first it’s just muscle, but then the body remembers why it smiles in the first place. Joy. And joy remembered is joy in the moment. Let yourself feel it, and breathe.

Don’t you feel better now?

Made it all the way down here without breathing? Complaints go to mchorton@melrook.com. The kind words have their own address — but you already scrolled past it. Go back up.

— Mel