The view from the Idea Center

Today marks a return to routine, and to the stress of the workday grind.

This first Monday in January is the unofficial end of the holiday season. The kids are out of your hair and back in school, with all the attendant squabbles over homework and why they insist on heading out the door without a hat and gloves. Your boss has returned and she’s already asked you about your goals this quarter. Your Outlook calendar, so wide-open these last few weeks, is once again loaded with meetings.

This morning on “The Sound of Ideas,” ideastream’s Mike McIntyre spoke with Eliza Wing, the author of the slim little book, “Just Breathe,” about how to keep calm through the practice of meditation. Eliza, who also happens to be the chief communications officer for Cuyahoga County, told Mike she deliberately kept the book short because meditation is a simple practice that doesn’t need a 200-page treatise to explain it.

I agree that meditation is simple. It’s sitting quietly and watching the breath, letting go of the thoughts that inevitably and unceasingly arise. I think people grasp the practice pretty quickly. What they don’t get is how it’s supposed to do anything for you. It feels like a whole bunch of nothing, a waste of time. And all those purported benefits, from better sleep to improved self-esteem, can seem illusory.

Take my husband. At my suggestion, he downloaded the meditation app Headspace.

“You’ll feel calmer, less stressed,” I told him.

He tried it a few times and reported feeling “nice.”

Nice is good, but I had built him up for “game-changing,” or even “transformational.”

He hasn’t meditated since.

Oh, well. I’ve taken to using the app. I like its relaxation exercises for sleep.

As for those of you in my husband’s camp, cheer up. Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is only 140 days away.

See you bright, early and calm tomorrow morning on the radio,
Amy Eddings

Need to KnOH

Headlines from Northeast Ohio and Beyond

• Middleburg Heights Native Michael Cavanaugh Keeps Playing 'Piano Man'
• Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan Looks To Build On Accomplishments Of His First Term
• Chapel Hill Mall Facing Foreclosure For Unpaid Taxes
• Local Pastor Keeps Faith As United Methodist Church Prepares Vote On Split
• Deceased GOP Strategist's Daughter Makes Files Public That Republicans Wanted Sealed

Your ideas

As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gears up to celebrate 25 years in Cleveland, we asked how discovering and listening to music has changed for you in the last quarter-century. Last week, in our Public Square Facebook group, Laura Rushton had an interesting insight on the switch to streaming: "I stream most of my music now, and I find I have a lot more to choose from. But my collections and playlists tend to be made up of what I liked in past decades. I don’t add much that is new because I don’t listen to radio like I used to."

Maybe meditating isn't for you, but you're trying something else to kick off 2020. Today on "Morning Edition,"  NPR's Allison Aubrey takes a look at Dry January, a month-long break from alcohol after working that holiday party circuit. Are you going dry this January? Is it saving you money so far or pushing you to come up with other things to do with friends besides "grab a drink?" Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment  on our Facebook page or join the conversation in  Public Square. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.