Recently, I invited you to notice where a mundane moment in your life can hold deeper meaning. (posted here)

I want to add another layer. Because, as I allude to at the end of that article, not everything is asking us to add deeper meaning. Sometimes it is asking something altogether different: to soften the tension, to strengthen your resolve, to limit distractions, to clarify next steps, to act with focus and deliberation. And it's in these actions that meaning is created.

One way to hold this question is to ask yourself, "What is the moment asking of me, right now?" No need to figure out the perfect answer. Simply tune in to your body and your instincts.

Let's take a simple example, sitting at a traffic light. Sure, that moment asks us to stop at the red light. But what else? How often is that stop accompanied by a racing mind that is completely focused elsewhere, an unconsciously tight grip on the steering wheel (that's me), and an impatient yearning to get to where you're going. I'm always amazed at the people who beep their horn immediately after the light turns green, before the driver ahead of them even has a chance to move from the brake pedal to accelerate. 

What does this ask of us?

Maybe it asks us to soften the body. Unclench the jaw, loosen the grip on the steering wheel.  Maybe it asks us to clarify to ourselves that we're safe, we're not in danger (unless we are), that there is really no need to rush. That we have enough time to reach our destination. And that the world will not end if we're a little late.

It's these moments that help us meet our next with a cooler, steadier rhythm.

Again, an example. There are countless others. For you, it could be reading or listening to the news, working on a computer with a million distracting tabs open making it impossible to focus on one thing or find what you need.

In those moments, you're "ask" could be limiting how much you read or balancing your usual news sources with "good news" sources such as Fix the News, Good Good Good, or the Good News Network. Or perhaps it is to take some action in response to the news of the day.

If you’d like a simple way to work with this in real life, not as merely a concept, I put together the Retreat Readiness Kit to help you plan a small, doable pocket of stillness at home. You can get it here.

And if you want an even more guided version, my Quiet Ground Home Retreat Kit is here when you need it. The Kit includes done for you retreat schedules and guided practices, including in some special focus areas like mindful eating and creativity & play.

If you click a link for the kit, you’ll have 20 minutes to access a $47 window. When the timer ends, it returns to $127.