This Is How I Do It

I'm not very good at meditating, though I've tried many times--sitting upright and proper, focusing on breath, and emptying my mind. The problem is I think too much, or I get bored of sitting there, or I want the time to pass more quickly so I can get started on all the things I recall needing done, or my back gets stiff and uncomfortable... Meditation is touted as a great physical and mental benefit, is purported to improve health, which is why I keep trying to make a go at it. But today I realized that I don't have to try because I do it all the time. I was sitting in the living room looking out the window at the maple tree ablaze in its autumnness and I was thinking how utterly beautiful it was--those leaves that provided shade all summer, teeming with phosphorous. And now that they've given all they could they will fall and turn to dust, giving the air that smell of spice, decomposing and becoming part of the dirt which will feed new life. I gave my mind over completely to admiring so that my heart wanted to burst with the loveliness of it and I felt like I could cry. So this is my way of meditating--to look at a small thing of beauty in the world, to see its beauty, to be thankful for my eyes. It doesn't matter how long I look or how I sit or if my mind wanders. I feel the same calming benefits of textbook meditation every time I appreciate life. And that is so damn easy to do.