One of my secrets to a happy life is meditation.
Growing up with a religious background, my parents would have my brothers and I all sit together each night to pray and thank God for what we were grateful for that day. I would usually come up with a routine, and mix in highlighted experiences like talking to a girl or playing with my best friends. It was a special time, and I often neglected to see the value in it. It was a burden to have to sit and say thank you, but I always felt good afterwards.
It took me years to notice this relationship between the activity of gratitude through prayer and my mood.
Meditation is a form of prayer. It is the silent connection to your greatest character. When you pass thoughts and are able to sit in silence (not an easy task) you reach an opportunity to find yourself. For whatever reason, once past the noise of the day/week/year, there is an opportunity for your mind to explore your goals, aspirations: your passion.
That is what meditation does for me: it creates the link between me and my greatest character.
“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.” - Buddha