In 28 days, I learned that meditation isn't always an all-by-myself, quiet room, sitting down with eyes closed proposition. Although I tried to make my practice a regular one with morning meditation, some days meditation happened in places I wouldn't have thought were conducive to mindfulness.

I've meditated while waiting for my car's suspension to be fixed; while dining in a restaurant where service was slow; while parked in a car outside a school just before I picked up my child; while sitting in a food court at a suburban mall. In a state of mindfulness I've tasted whole wheat toast for what seemed like the first time; enjoyed the symphony of clinking silverware, chiming plates and glasses, and conversation in a restaurant; found patience standing in line for far longer than I normally tolerate by letting go of anger like a stray thought.

I realized that blogging about meditation each time I sat made me too self-conscious and too detail-oriented; that just letting it happen was a better fit for me because I could 'enjoy' myself with too much scrutiny; and that without trying very hard, the benefits of meditation bled into other areas of my life. Empathy was easier, silence more welcome, slowing down a natural outcome.

Did I do it every day? No. Will I continue to find a space for meditation in my life? I intend to. I wasn't perfect, but I sat. I was distracted by thoughts, but I sat. I found it hard, but I sat. I sat in stillness and in noise, alone and surrounded by others, focusing outward and focusing inward and not focusing at all. I sat, and learned, and am the better for it.