What does it mean to "meditate"?

We picture a Buddhist monk sitting in lotus position in a quiet room with candles and running water.

In reality, you can meditate while walking through a construction site.

Meditation is simply bringing your attention to the present moment rather than to your thoughts.

Now, there's always something happening in the present. The sound of a car. The light from the sky. A breeze on your face. The sensation in your foot, in your torso, in your neck.

Like many people, I started meditating by focusing on my breathing.

We tell ourselves "easy"! But quickly, we realize we're bombarded with thoughts, ideas, anxieties. The game is to acknowledge their existence and greet them without letting ourselves be carried away.

And when a thought wins and we "wake up" after five minutes lost in our head, calmly return to breathing. This isn't a failure, quite the opposite.

It's this back-and-forth that builds presence, like a muscle we're working.