Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I want to talk a little bit about time,
About dealing with time and coming to terms with time.
Time is the one currency we can't earn back,
And yet it's often spent as if it were infinite.
People delay joy,
They postpone presents,
They defer dreams,
Waiting for a better moment that may never come.
If you listen to my meditations and my live sessions,
You know that I say all the time that time is our most valuable commodity,
And it's the one thing that we spend without knowing our balance,
Without knowing how much time we have.
Which is why I always say that I'm honored that you're investing some of your precious time here with me.
I've talked before about a Tim McGraw song called Live Like You Were Dying.
And it's about a man who learns that he's going to die soon from cancer.
And when he thinks about time,
The time he has left,
He says,
I went skydiving,
I went Rocky Mountain climbing,
I went 2.
7 seconds on a bowl named Fu Manchu,
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying.
And he said,
Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.
So as you're sitting here breathing,
I would like to ask each one of you to stop for just a moment and imagine that you've been told that you have just seven days to live.
Think about it.
Really think about it.
What would you do?
Who would you want to see?
Who would you want to talk with?
What would you want to eat?
Because when you're told that your time is down to just seven days,
It makes you look at everything.
If you follow me,
You know that when I was 30,
A team of doctors told me that I only had about five years to live.
And they suggested that I go home and get my affairs in order.
And to me,
That was the one benefit of being told that my life might be short,
Was that I lived it differently.
I dedicated my time to my daughters.
We went camping and canoeing.
We built forts and houses in the snow.
We played in the fall leaves.
We've lived each moment.
And I noticed all the glimmers.
And I'll talk about those in just a moment.
Living like you were dying isn't about urgency or panic.
It's about clarity.
It's the soft rebellion against distraction.
When we truly feel the finiteness of time,
We start to notice more.
The way the light hits a child's face,
The sound of the wind through the trees,
The warmth of a shared glance,
The music in the laughter of children,
Or the music in a falling rain.
The wonder of all living things that go through life with us,
From birds to squirrels to ants.
When you live like you were dying,
You give more.
More kindness,
More forgiveness,
More attention,
Because we realize that these are gifts.
When you live like you were dying,
You choose better.
Not just what fills your calendar,
But what fills your hearts.
Taking time to notice all the glimmers of our lives.
Glimmers refer to small moments when our biology is in a place of connection or regulation,
Which cues our nervous system to feel safe or calm.
We're not talking great big expanse of experiences,
Just small micro moments that help to shape our system in gentle ways.
And when you live like you were dying,
You begin to notice all the glimmers that are available to you in a day.
Close your eyes now,
And let's get in touch with our breath.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Lying down,
Or kicked back in your favorite recliner.
The only thing that truly matters when you meditate is that you're comfortable and alert.
So to begin to settle in,
Let's focus on our breath.
We're just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time,
And then the next,
And then the next.
Let's scan our body.
Relax your face.
Unfurl your brow and unclench your jaw.
We're all too tense.
Relax your neck and your shoulders.
Those are common places of tension in today's world.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Look for any tension in your chest and belly.
Relax your legs and your feet.
And as you begin to relax,
Let's focus even more on our breath.
Our breath is like a river as it flows in and flows out.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's there for us in all times.
And if you have thoughts,
Just let them go.
They're like clouds in the sky or waves on a lake.
And the same goes for sounds.
If you hear sounds in the room,
Just let them go.
And begin noticing your breath.
Not changing it,
Just noticing.
The inhale arrives.
The exhale leaves.
And time continues to flow.
Let yourself arrive in this moment.
Not rushing,
Not reaching,
Just arriving.
Now I'd like you to imagine time,
Not as a ticking clock,
But as a gentle river.
It doesn't demand.
It invites.
It doesn't chase.
It carries.
You are not behind.
You are not late.
You are here.
And let that truth settle into your body.
With each breath,
Feel yourself stepping out of the race and into the rhythm.
Out of urgency and into intimacy.
Out of scarcity and into sacredness.
Let's explore this together.
As you breathe in,
Silently say,
This moment is enough.
And as you breathe out,
Softly say,
I am enough in it.
Maybe repeat that for a few breaths.
On the inhale,
This moment is enough.
And on the exhale,
I am enough in it.
We're just breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time.
Now if you will,
Bring to mind something that you often rush through.
A task,
A conversation,
A morning routine.
Now hold it gently in your awareness and ask yourself,
What would it feel like to treat this as sacred?
Not special,
Not dramatic,
Just sacred.
Worthy of your full attention.
Worthy of your breath.
Let your body respond.
Notice any softening.
Notice any resistance.
Notice any curiosity.
Now imagine your day unfolding like a ceremony,
Not a checklist.
But a series of offerings.
Each moment,
An altar.
Each breath,
A candle.
Each interaction,
A prayer.
How would you move?
How would you speak?
How would you listen?
Let this vision settle into your heart.
You don't need more time.
You need more presence.
You don't need to hold time.
You need to be held by it.
And let's return to the breath.
Inhale.
Time is sacred.
Exhale.
I live within it.
Inhale.
Time is sacred.
Exhale.
I live within it.
As we come to a close,
Offer gratitude to this moment.
Offer gratitude to your breath,
To your willingness to slow down.
You are not late.
You are here.
You are not behind.
You are here.
And here is holy.
Now when you're ready,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch and feel how good it is to be in this moment.
What it is to be alive.
When you live like you were dying,
You live your life more fully because you pay attention to what's going on,
To what you're doing,
To who you're talking to,
To what you're eating.
Carry this spaciousness with you and let time be your companion,
Not your captor.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session for each and every one of you.
Till next time.
