Mondays represent a fresh start for me. A new week, a chance to look at life afresh, an opportunity to change habits, try a new course of action, to prioritize or shift priorities.

It’s become a ritual of mine – on Mondays – to come up with a theme or a phrase to contemplate throughout the day and the week ahead. I’ve coined these ideas my Monday meditations.

Sometimes I’ll notice a meditation is specific to my role as a parent, and at other times I find myself applying it across the board to my work, my relationships, my daily actions.

I thought I’d begin the tradition of sharing my Monday meditations with you, my readers, and see how they speak to you.

Starting today, and checking in on a daily basis for the coming week, take some time to meditate on this:

Be open.

If you are new to the idea of meditation, go easy on yourself. Start by sitting for five minutes in a comfortable seated position, preferably in a quiet spot. Begin to notice your breath coming in and out of your body. Once you’ve settled into your breath, let yourself explore what “being open” means to you. What thoughts emerge when you say the words to yourself? Is there a particular area of your life where you could be more open? Or are there areas in which you find it difficult to be open? What would happen if you were open to different ideas, to physical or emotional experiences or ways of approaching your daily life? Challenge yourself to understand in what parts of your life you feel you are open and what areas, perhaps, you are not.

As the week progresses, you might want to explore these ideas in a journal or you might want to sit longer in meditation. Regardless, I encourage you to reflect on being open and, well, be open to it.

And feel free to be open with me on how it goes!