Anna, a very dear meditation student, recently sent me a photo of herself sitting with her 3-month-old baby and meditating. She wrote to me: "All my friends ask me how I find time to meditate with my baby. But I just do it! Even with the little one in my arms. And I notice how much it recharges my batteries."
And Anna is absolutely right! The perfect moment for meditation probably rarely exists. Most of the time, we are fully occupied with ourselves and our daily lives. There's work in the office; the kitchen that still needs cleaning; the groceries that won't shop themselves; or indeed, a little child rightfully demanding its time for nourishment, comfort, and play.
I hear often from meditation students: "I had no time to meditate at all." My response is always the following old Buddhist Zen wisdom: "Meditate for 20 minutes daily, unless you have no time. Then meditate for an hour."
And it's true! Not meditating when you're stressed is like the overweight person saying, "I'll start exercising when I'm thinner." Meditation helps you – especially in stressful times. It reduces stress, much like exercise sheds excess weight.
With meditation, you become more collected and balanced, and suddenly all those everyday tasks seem much more manageable.
Ultimately, meditating means "being in the moment" - no matter what the moment looks like.
