Meditation doesn't have to look like meditation

I'm traveling this week, which disrupts my usual meditation habit. normally I meditate in the morning for about 15 minutes and in the evening for about 30 minutes. I still meditate in the morning, sitting on a folded blanket on the bed, a book with a picture of Tara propped on a pillow as an altar.

Since I'm spending the day at a symposium, the days are full and long. My usual after-dinner meditation time is spent in a lecture hall, listening, processing.

I had a couple of hours free in the morning -- free, as in, find food, coffee, and -- auspicious coincidence -- chocolate. As I walked through the downtown, I was captivated by the public art, the atmosphere, the abundance of benches, the view of the river.

Sitting on a bench, I thought, I should meditate here. And I laughed internally. Crossing my legs into lotus position would not have made me more present than I was.

Meditation doesn't have to look like meditation. it just has to feel like meditation: fully present, not caught in thought or projection, aware of what's going on around you, resting in the present