Category: Being Present

I was speaking to a parent the other day and we were both commenting on how fast this last year went by.

Like… 2025?! …What??

And not only were we amazed at how fast the year went by… but at how it feels like the years go by faster and faster each year.

One of the reasons for this, I’d say, is that with each year we get busier and busier.

When we contextualize this within the span of a day, you’d see the same pattern. The busier you are, the quicker the day goes by.

The antidote to this then, if you’re looking to better soak in and fully absorb the time of your life, is to deliberately find time when you can un-busy yourself.

Time when you can just sit… and meditate for a little while.

Time when you can just walk… and notice the world you often take for granted.

Time when you can just reflect… and emphasize the happenings of the day, sort through the thoughts of your mind, and solidify key moments that you want to carry with you there forward.

As obvious as it sounds, my feeling is that far too many don’t make time for this.

If you want time to slow down… you have to slow down.

More un-busy time is the path to a more fully experienced year.

One of my best friends became a father today.

And my guess is that it was filled with some of the most present, wholesome, transcendental moments of his entire life.

…Imagine if we could harness this same kind of awe, attention, and energy into more of the moments of our days.

…Because the crazy thing is: we can.

In these moments, when I have a ton going when… when I feel like I want nothing more than a long break… when I fantasize about no obligations, no pressure situations, no producing results… when I feel like all I want to do is have wide open days, and weeks, and months to just read books, write words, and do whatever I feel like doing…

…I think about all of the people who are in the sunset phase of life who want nothing more than to revisit the busy days… who fantasize about the times when they had tons of obligations, were living some of their life’s limelight moments, and were producing not just results, but memories that make up the core of their life’s legacy…

And it’s in these thoughts that I try to bring myself back to the present moment. There will be a day when I wish I could come back to the very moments I’m thinking about being out of. And it’s here that I get to make the impression that my future self gets to think back on. And so no, today I won’t run from what’s in front of me… I’m going to embrace it. Fully and wholeheartedly. Not just for future me, but more importantly, for current me.

I hope you will, too.

Most of us are well conditioned for doing.

Doing is completely aligned with our fast paced, modern world.

So much so that it’s as though our proverbial to-do lists only seem to grow regardless of how many tasks we mark as done.

…And so off to do more we go.

But, what so many of us forget is that just because doing might be aligned with our fast paced, modern world—it doesn’t mean it’s aligned with our rich and complex inner world.

See, what our inner world needs is time to just… be.

It needs time to digest all that’s been done… time to process what you’ve exposed it to… time to reconnect to the present moment and soak in the experience that’s right in front of it minus all of the reoccurring, ceaseless thoughts of what’s been done (past) and what still needs to be done (future).

Being is what’s completely aligned with our inner worlds.

But, of course, things still need to get done.

Just don’t get all disproportional with it and perpetually shove “being” to the bottom of your infinite-scroll to do list.

…Because life without being isn’t a life done at all.

After basketball today, a friend shared a story of how he used to ball from 9am – 1am when he was younger. He was talking about how—in the good ol’ days—he’d get woken up at 9am by neighborhood friends, play in his driveway for a few hours, then go to the park and play for a few more, then go to a different park and play a few more, and so forth until eventually he’d make his way back home and play until he wasn’t allowed to anymore.

In the afternoon, while hanging out with my family, my aunt was telling us how she’s going to get a knee injection and how, if that doesn’t work, she may need to get a full knee replacement. She was sharing with us how she simply can’t wait to get back to a place where she can walk and not be in unbearable pain.

During dinner tonight, while eating a fantastic bowl of Phö, my little sister—who’s not really my sister but pretty much is—was reminiscing about the good ol’ days when we used to have the OG squad over for Phö nights and we’d eat around the table together, play games, watch movies, and hang out for hours and hours on end… and how she missed those times.

Ah, the good ol’ days…

We all can think back to experiences that we miss.

But just as Yesterday’s You didn’t realize they were living in what Future You would consider “the good ol’ days,” so is it true that Today’s You probably doesn’t realize that you’re living in what Tomorrow’s You will consider “the good ol’ days” right now.

Spontaneous self-expression should be honored as one of the most sacred human experiences we can witness and offer in life.

Be it through quirky or carefree dance, uncontrollable laughter, art of any kind, intimate and/or vulnerable conversation, potent emotional arises… these are the moments when we both truly remember a person and are truly remembered. These are the moments we record into our memory banks that allow us to recall the feeling and image of a person on demand. These are the moments when we/they are truly alive and most impressively connected to the present moment—despite all of the distractions, brainwashing, and suffering that’s constantly trying to yank us away.

It’s a rare and sacred moment both for you and another to experience. Recognize that and honor it for what it is. Surround yourself with more people and in more places where this is the vibe. And don’t ever be that person that kills another person’s spontaneous vibe.

Do more things that make you forget you have a phone… they said.

…And they were right.

There isn’t much presence that comes from being on a phone.

Except maybe when you’re having a great conversation.

But, that feels to me to be more of the exception than the norm in today’s world.

Phones are a modern day escape.

And there’s nothing wrong with escapes. I know I sure need them every now and again.

But, when you’re escaping for excessively large chunks of time throughout your day… it begs the question…

…What are you trying to escape from?

And how can you begin the process of reversing that trend so that your reality—your life—becomes a thing you don’t need to escape from?

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P.s. You might notice some differences in how you get these posts emailed to you—my old email provider retired its service while I was at Burning Man. So please bear with me as I get everything migrated over and updated to a new service in the mean time. Thank you :)