Sitting still, doing nothing.  This is seriously difficult for most people.  It's a conundrum, because most busy people would love to have a quiet moment to themselves.  But when they have an opportunity to have a bit of time to do nothing, they reflexively reach for their i-whatever.  It's as if we can't be with ourselves, alone. Given the mass amount of stimulation, it's no wonder we're a bit addicted to it.  Our attention span is 140 characters or less as media comes in so many forms all at once, most of it fitting in our hand and marked with an apple on the back.  

Research shows that setting aside time to be still and quiet, boosts creativity, lowers stress, regulates blood pressure, improves mood and a bunch more good things.  Call it what you want: navel gazing, daydreaming, contemplating, praying.  For the purposes of this article, we'll refer to it as meditation.  Meditation leads to developing a calm, silent state, yet being completely alert.  It's a practice, a discipline.  By being still, the mind can be quiet and in that state find a bit of refuge or peace.  It could not be more simple.  

Well, if it's so easy and offers so many benefits, why aren't we all on a meditation cushion, eyes downcast, hands in lap, legs folded?  Here are a few reasons:

2.  Without stimulation from the senses, the mind goes nuts, or it seems like it.  It's commonly referred to as a drunken monkey bitten by a scorpion.  

4.  We have no faith that we can actually do it.

5.  Meditation is for those spiritual-types, not me.  

Meditation is a practice.  Each time we sit still it may be glorious, bringing a sense of clarity, peace and self-awareness.  Other times, it can be full of negative rumination, vacation planning and and shoe shopping.  Like anything else, with dedicated practice and a dose of skill, it gets better.  The drunken monkey gets bored and sobers up.  

The benefits of meditating are diverse, from physical to psychological to spiritual;  found with an easy Google search.  One of the most important benefits, I believe, is the awareness to observe our thoughts and eventually regulate emotion.  By observing our thoughts and the accompanying rise and fall of emotion associated with those thoughts, we can start to control them (the thoughts and emotions).   

Surprise!  Meditation can actually be entertaining as we watch our thoughts hop around from ruminating over the past, judging the present and planning the future (good luck). Here's an example:  as you sit to meditate, you're fixated on the red Frye cowboy boots you just saw in the Sundance catalog that arrived along with the omnipresent J.Crew magazine.  While attempting to concentrate on your breath, the image of those awesome boots and how they'd look with your new dress keeps interrupting you.  Here's the opportunity to watch how your mind works.  It's fascinating, really.  You observe the thoughts arising and all the emotions that come along with them, in this case, want, desire, and need.  It's a great time to just laugh at yourself as your mind jumps from concentrating on your breath or why you need, want, and must have the $298 boots.