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Category: Being Present

Being Busy Is A Choice

Published on November 17, 2025

Dear busy person,

It’s good to remember that being busy is a choice. And that you don’t have to do everything during the day that you do…

…When, in fact, you choose to do it all because each task outweighs the consequences of not doing it (otherwise, why do it?).

…And if that’s true, then why do it all with resentment? With anger? With upset? With anxiety? With rage?

…If it’s true that doing each task is your top choice for things to do in that moment because it outweighs the consequences of not… why not do it with joy? With presence? With humor? With care? With grace?

Why not try to really enjoy your busyness rather than try to hastily get to the busyness finish line (is there even such a thing)? Don’t you think busyness is precisely what life is made up of? If not that, then what? And if life isn’t experienced in the bulk of the everyday, then when?

…Something to reflect on throughout your day today. :)

“Well… Life Goes On…”

Published on October 16, 2025

…This is what my friend with Alzheimer’s says at the end of most of his thoughts.

He’ll finish telling me a story about his life or sharing an idea or answering a question and he’ll say, almost every time,“Well… life goes on…”

Specifically, and maybe most potently in my mind, I remember him telling me how he went to several brain doctors to see what they could do to help him and they each essentially said,“Nothing really”—and I can still see him taking a long pause, taking a breath, and letting the words fall from his lips as naturally as the breath would’ve swirled into the surrounding air… “Well… life goes on.”

…Why utter these words so frequently?

…To me, it’s a statement of surrender.

…But, not in a bad way—in the most important of ways.

In the way that comes after the due diligence… after the heavy research and experimental trials and errors… after the “buying the best money could buy” and using every connection you’ve ever even faintly connected with…

Yes… after all options have been exhausted and the reality of a situation hovers overhead…

It’s a mantra that allows you to surrender to that reality… and rather than fight against life… it allows you to get back to the living of it.

Because just as there were names forgotten… there were dance moves remembered.

And just as cups of tea were lost… there were meaningful conversations found.

And just as memories were fading… new memories were made.

Because, yes, indeed…“life goes on.”

…But if we don’t surrender from the fighting, we’ll miss what’s available now and all that’s left to see.

It Made All The Difference

Published on August 5, 2025

After an afternoon adventure, I was running a little early before needing to return to work and was faced with a choice as I closed in on my afternoon coffee time: (a) Get my coffee to go and go back in early—using caffeine and the extra minutes as the vehicle to boost my “productivity”…

Or (b) remember my experiences in Bosnia and use the coffee and extra time as the vehicle to boost my presence of mind.

…I parked my car, walked inside the café, got my coffee, sat at my seat, sipped on it for a full and hearty 30 minutes, didn’t do much else otherwise—certainly nothing traditionally considered “productive”—

…And let me tell you: it made all the difference.

Phones Face Down

Published on July 20, 2025

I’m in Florida at one of the biggest Martial Arts tournaments in the world.

I have several students competing and took them out to dinner last night.

Two of the youngest suggested we all put our phones face down and on top of each other in the middle of the table—so we could all be more present.

And it wasn’t until they suggested it that I realized I was the one who was on my phone more than anyone else at the table.

…To my defense, I was texting people who I was going to order food to-go for, who I was going to meet up with later and tomorrow, and who wanted pics and vids.

And yet, it really wasn’t an excuse.

…There I was, at the table with around 15ish of my team members, sending texts to other people.

And it took two of the youngest to remind me: there’s a time and place for those text convos… but right there, right then? …With all of us together IRL? …Enjoying the victories of the day and talking about the excitements of tomorrow? …Wasn’t it.

Are We Doing Coffee Wrong?

Published on July 4, 2025

Coffee in Bosnia hits different.

Coffee isn’t bought in drive thrus and chugged on the go… it’s sipped slowly in cafés scattered throughout the city (like this incredible one in Mostar).

It isn’t something that’s used solely for caffeine intake, it’s used as a means for conversation and connection (I sat at the above linked café maybe five times… and each was for an average of two hours).

It isn’t even used as a means to maximize profit… once you sit and place your order, the waiter/waitress won’t come back to you until you waive them down or get up to leave. 

There’s zero pressure… zero interruption… and zero care for how long you stay and sip, chat, and relax (like, literally, I couldn’t conveniently order more drinks even when I wanted to).

It’s a major cultural shift from what I’m used to America. But what is a cultural shift except a change in attitude that catches on?

…Maybe slowing down and learning to use coffee as a means as opposed to an end is a vibe you think is worth catching onto?

Add Sitting To Your Travel Itinerary—Yes, Sitting…

Published on July 2, 2025

I went on a 9-hour sightseeing/history tour in Bosnia today.

This was in stark contrast to how the first few days were spent.

It was a lot of driving around, a lot of walking, and a LOT of talking—which is in no way a complaint. It was an absolutely incredible tour.

What I found to be so interesting, however, that I found myself reflecting on as I compared the days I’ve spent here is that you can learn just as much from a place by mindfully sitting as you can from actively sightseeing.

In fact, being in a hurry can make you miss more than relaxing in one spot might allow you to gain.

…The body language, the mannerisms, the expressions, the topics, the pace, etc.

This might not always be true, and I wouldn’t necessarily only recommend mindfully sitting when visiting an area… it’s merely an observation that compliments the one from yesterday: wherever you are—be there.

…And don’t be so busy trying to fill your day-to-day itinerary—be it on vacation or in your day-to-day life—that you don’t ever give yourself a chance to just sit and allow presence to catch up with living.

…There’s more to learn from sitting than I think you can ever plan for.

I Threw The Colors In The Whites Pile…

Published on May 23, 2025

I was separating whites from colors when doing laundry today.

And I had a moment where I threw the colors that were in my hand into the whites pile because I was looking ahead at the whites that I was going to grab next after tossing what was in my hand into the whites pile.

It was a subtle reminder to slow down. To not get ahead of myself. To be where my senses were and not on fast forward in my head.

…The moments spend doing laundry are moments just as worthy of presence as any other moments of the day.