Effort! Put in more effort!
To improve yourself you need lots and lots of effort.
Indomitable effort,
Ever increasing effort,
Endless effort,
Supreme effort!
In meditation, you cannot afford to be tired.
You cannot allow to get yourself bored.
Giving up is not in the vocabulary.
Better die than to throw in the towel.
The answer to this is: Effort!
Unrelenting effort,
Continuous and persevering effort,
Fiercely burning effort,
Heroic effort,
Supreme effort!
Think that you may die the next moment,
And it may be hell forever.
Then effort would upsurge till it frightens you.
Think of the blessings it may give you.
And effort would upsurge,
But be careful of the dreadful obsession.
Right effort is the effort to be mindful
And effort in mindfulness.
Therefore with right effort things can only be better.
So put in right effort,
More effort and more effort,
Put in supreme effort!
Walking Iris and other poems - Sujiva
The above poem applies not only to meditation but in all aspects of the Buddhist practice. In fact, right effort should be applied to everything you do or want to do.
I particularly like this line: "Think that you may die the next moment". Just contemplate. Even the contemplation that you may die the next year, next month, next week or next day, is bound to bring out strong reactions.
More so is the contemplation of death in the next moment. Life changes from moment to moment. Bear in mind the Buddha's last words: "All compounded things are impermanent."
It is often the thought that I may die soon that drives me on in the practice. One of my goals in life is to live to the fullest every moment, so that even if I die the next moment, I have no regrets. If you want to do something, don't wait. You may lost that opportunity forever if you procastinate.
It is this thought of death that drives me on, even when I feel so tired, even when the going seems impossible. For example, some people (especially my collegues) thought that I was foolish to take up the dhamma course last year as it would take up too much of my time and make me too tired. (The classes are twice to thrice per week on weekdays. Those who do audit would understand how heavy the work load would be sometime.) Indeed, a lot of time, I feel dead tired. However, I survived through managing everything reasonably well, though sometimes, the results are not as good as I hope them to be. When looking back, I have no regrets. I know that what I did was right.
Stop behaving as if you would live forever. If you want to do something, do it now!
I hope that this poem would be an inspiration in your practice.