I've been fascinated with Buddhism since my 20's, and now I can say I finally understand it--at least a little bit. You hear often in Buddhist teachings about the importance of doing one thing at a time. In the modern world, this can seem suicidal. We're so overstimulated, constantly blogging (ha, ha), tweeting, multitasking, overachieving.

And I didn't really try following that Buddhist tenet too closely--until I had a baby. If anything, what drove the change is my newfound need to be understimulated.

After a third trimester spent mostly in the hospital and a 14-hour labor and then a c-section, I need light, romantic comedies, guided meditation on the ipod, low lighting, pictures of kittens, and decaf mint tea.

So I've begun doing one thing at a time. Feeding the baby is just feeding the baby, not watching tv and feeding the baby. Eating lunch is just eating lunch.

It takes practice. I'm not perfect and I don't do it every time. But I now finally get it. It's so deceptively simple, and telling you probably won't help until someday it hits you too, but only in doing one thing at a time can you actually be present. You can't do it, you have to be it.

If you're not doing one thing at a time, you're robbing yourself of the present experience. And why would you want to do that?