The Meditation

My meditation went quite well, my mind wondered quite often but I was able to bring it back quite quickly each time.  The meditation guide began by relaxing the body and ensuring I was in the right posture, then concentrated on the out-breath, counting at the end of breathing out.  Then concentrating on the in-breath, counting just before breathing in.  The difference was interesting, in that counting on the out-breath seemed much more calming and slowed down my breathing whereas counting just before the in-breath seemed to enliven the mind.  Later stages stopped the counting and focussed on the sensation of breathing on different parts of the body - this seemed to alternately relax and bring some tension. I found that when my mind wandered, I tended to listen to the gentle breathing of my wife who was sleeping, or to feel the presence of my daughter, I also kept hearing the ticking of our clock and different birds calling outside...it seemed that whenever I heard a new noise that I became distracted but only for a very short while. When my meditation was complete, I just sat for a while feeling very calm but it seemed I was straining to hear new noises...I wonder what that was for?