Not Someday. Not When. Now.
The Week That Spoke Softly
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” Rumi
Often, some weeks pass without much notice, and then there are those rare ones—when life holds you still and speaks so clearly, that you can’t help but listen. This past week was one of those.
It wasn’t dramatic in the way that a crisis makes headlines. It was quieter, much quieter, and also personal. Personal, but no less significant. I found myself on the receiving end of some extraordinary care—real, human care. The kind of care where compassion isn’t a job description, but a presence. It reminded me how easily we forget that grace lives just below the surface of our daily lives. A place that is far too easy to overlook. And sometimes, all it takes is the right kind of pause to grab our attention.
“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
A Life Built by Practice
I’ve put a lot of work into trying to live with intention: through the foods I try to eat, the moments of deliberate reflection each day, how I go about writing, and even the way I choose to slow down. But this past week reminded me, more than ever before, why I do it all. Because when life does what life inevitably does—throws a headwind your way—you can either meet it from solid ground or just get carried. You either reach for what you’ve practiced, or you surrender to a path that wasn’t yours to begin with.
“You don’t climb a mountain in leaps and bounds, but in small steps that reshape your footing.”
David Whyte
Older, Yes. But Also More Awake
Older? Of course, I am. Aren’t we all? Older than I was yesterday, and even older than I was not just days, and weeks, but years and years of so many things I still remember. And because of that, I’ve come to realize that age is so much more than just a number—it’s knowing. Knowing that all of the falls and the missteps are not just weak links, but lessons connected to strength that comes from accepting that suffering is needed to bless us with the graces of healing. Not just our physical selves, but our hearts and souls as well.
Accepting that I am older is a quiet agreement with myself to stay at the helm, even when the sea turns toward the storm. I’m not chasing “someday” anymore, and I won’t stand around waiting for “when.” I’m here, right here. Now. Awake and alive in this moment. Not because I planned it, but because I prepared for it.
“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other with us in our minds wherever we go.”
Martha Washington
Talk soon…
G