After a tough day at work my temper was short this evening. I had resigned myself to a night of yelling and short patience when I remembered to reconnect with my breath. I did this over and over for the entire night.
The more that I practice my meditation the easier this becomes. When the kids scream and the nerves jangle from my eardrums to my anus I breathe and calmly remind them that there is no yelling in our home. By modelling patience through meditation I am able to show the behavior that I am requesting instead of giving it lip service.
I am in month 8 of meditating twice per day and I find that I am connecting with my breath more often. If I am overwhelmed or swamped in some way I am reflexively concentrating on the air coming in through my nostrils and this act of focusing my mind completely calms me and reduces anxiety and stress. This practice has caused me to act in accordance with my values many times over the past several months, with the kids and my wife and at work.
I am especially more inclined to apologize to my wife more quickly than I have in the past. This morning I flew off the handle when my wife asked me to free up some hard drive space on her computer as I was walking out the door for work. I immediately realized that I had overreacted and I took a deep breath and apologized. I left for work with a kiss instead of a grunt. These moments are key for maintaining harmonious relationships with my wife, kids and friends.
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