Living On Purpose One Rock At A Time

I just got back from Colorado where I spent a week relaxing, re-energizing and revisiting the key values in my life. The lodge where I stayed is called Peaceful Valley, and it has a chapel on the premises. I’ve been to Peaceful Valley and to this chapel many times over the years. The chapel is at the end of a steep ten-minute hike, which has become a ritual for me. The view at the top — a part of the Rocky Mountain range — is breathtaking.

On the way down one morning I was in a hurry and going too fast for the terrain. I nearly fell. There were lots of rocks, and it was easy to hit a wobbly one and slip.

I slowed down, took a deep breath, and placed my foot down purposefully on the next rock, and then the next. I soon sped up and had to slow myself down again.

I decided that even if I was late, I would place each foot consciously every time I took a step. It took a lot for me to do this. But it turned out to be an amazing centering and meditative practice. One rock at a time — that’s all I chose to think about. And I was suddenly more aware of everything — the sound of the wind, the chattering of birds and squirrels, and the light of the early morning sun on the golden aspens.

I thought: I could do this more often. Be here now. Feel the touch of my foot on the rock. Feel the steering wheel as I drive. BE at the stop light, instead of minutes or hours ahead at the destination. Hear the birds outside my office window.

I begin to think that multi-tasking is overrated. The really hard thing is to be fully present in one place at a time.

How aware are you of this moment? Does life seem to speed up so much that you miss some of the most important parts? Take a moment right now and breathe. Count to 5 on the inhale, and count 5 again on the exhale. Take the time. It’s now that you’re alive, not yesterday and not tomorrow. Now.

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“Centering is the art of being fully alive. And wherever the art of centering is practiced, things change dramatically.”