Visiting with Grace

Deep diving into life…

When invited to a dinner party, I ask what I can bring.

When visiting a new city, I go out of my way to do something unique and fun like visit a gong-fu tea house in Austin.

On the other hand, when I’m in my own city, in my own house, it’s easy to go into auto-pilot and do what feels familiar and comfortable.

As an outgoing introvert, I do enjoy coming back to an environment that feels specifically tuned to my preferences because that helps me self-regulate, but that can easily turn into living with a lesser degree of presence than when visiting new environments. 

Sometimes I’ll look through my book collection and notice books that I ordered from Amazon years ago that I’ve only skimmed through or read certain parts of.

Not very ‘Dora the Explorer’ of me!

That’s partially because I enjoy interacting with books like Oracle decks. I’ll pick them up when I feel inspired, open to a random page to glean the synchronistic wisdom, and partially because of the lessened presence and interest when something feels familiar and is readily available.

Hello “SOS” (Shiny Object Syndrome)! 

It’s often said that time is our greatest resource, but I’d say that PRESENCE is our greatest resource and most powerful tool in this human journey.

We could have all the time in the world, but if there is a shallow embodiment of presence during that time, then that time spent will be unfulfilling, unmemorable, or both.

Presence is giving someone your full attention when in conversation with them as opposed to being on your phone with half of your attention going to a text conversation or instagram carousel.

We have countless options for entertainment and numerous creature comforts in the 21st century, and I enjoy those things as much as anyone. They make life extremely convenient, but this is a clarion call to retain the visitor mentality whenever possible.

A mentality where we think about how we can be considerate and add value to someone else’s experience.

A way of being where we take different routes to work, and try new restaurants and cultural musings because we desire to experience the astonishing diversity of expression of life.

A perspective where we acknowledge our temporary sojourn on Earth. Oliver Burkeman would say we have approximately 4,000 weeks in this realm and we should strive to make the absolute most of it.

Because after all, we are souls having a human experience, right? 

We are visiting this planet to evolve through embodiment and learn how to be a living expression of that which we truly are: LOVE.

This is your invitation to live in deep presence for the next hour.

Try single tasking and giving your full attention to everything you’re doing.

Close all the other tabs on your browser (literally and figuratively).

Eat in silence, even if just for one meal, and focus on the taste and texture of the food.

Leave your phone on the desk when you go to the bathroom and…

You know where I’m going with this.

Be present with your life to the fullest for the next hour and then reflect on how your experience was different than it normally is.

Share your reflections in your journal, with a friend, or even in a comment below.

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And in case you want to dance or freestyle rap in full presence, here is one of my favorite songs: