Meditation is the art of doing nothing. In those moments you sit and do nothing, the mind goes really still to a state where everything has shut down. And yet there is a gentle awareness which is unlike a sleep or dream state. 

When you get a glimpse of that state even for a few seconds there is a very deep sense of peace, not to mention fulfilment. 

It is not that I feel that state every time I meditate. However if I miss even a day, then the state eludes me even more. And the longer the gap the more elusive is a good quality meditation. Thoughts and emotions take over. And in that state of restlessness it becomes even more difficult to find the motivation or inspiration to overcome all obstacles that come between me and my time for meditation. 

Everything else in my life can be picked up even after a slight break. If I have not responded to an important mail today, I can always make it up tomorrow. Every one understands that life is really busy and unless it’s a crucial deal deadline or an operational matter, there is some leeway in our professional commitments. If I haven’t read to my daughter for a day or two, it is not difficult to resume after a small gap. In fact the longing in my daughter and me to get back to it makes it even more sweet. If I haven’t treated myself to sufficient sleep for a couple of days, making it up is never a big deal. And of course all my personal to do lists can always be picked up sporadically whenever I manage to get to them. And I do pick them up whenever I feel I have postponed something too much, without any nasty repercussions by and large. 
However if I miss my meditation even a single day it can start going downhill very fast. One day easily makes it two and then before I know it’s a week. Once a week, it can turn into a month and you are lost to it for aeons. It doesn’t matter what time I get to it, as long as I have given it a sincere 30 minutes in my day. On good days it’s usually an hour. My family and my work are both secondary to my time for my meditation. 
And I know now from experience that those 30 minutes make me a better father, husband, son and a better employee too. So by being selfish to my own time I am actually being selfless. When I was growing up and we had planned go out in the evening as a family, it would annoy me no end that my father always had to give the mandatory 10 to 20 minutes to his evening prayer after he came back from work, before we went out. I remember questioning why he couldn’t skip it one day especially given he was so regular on all other days. I understand now and am proud he was so committed.