Mindfulness

Each moment is a procession from the future into the past and the sweet spot is always the present. Live in that sweet spot. Be present.

This is not preparation for life. This is life.

The more distracted we become, and the more emphasis we put on speed at the expense of depth, the less able we are to care.

There is no better use of a life than to be attentive to such needs. There are as many ways to do this as there are kinds of loneliness, but all of them require presence, all of them require the hard work of human computing.

Life is about nouns and verbs. It's about action, about people doing. When you cut out adjectives and adverbs, you cut out the things that qualify action, or interpret or analyze action. You reach the pure essence of experience.

I hope if you learn anything from me today, if you remember anything that I say today, I hope you'll remember about the power of the pause. Pausing today and throughout your entire life allows you to take a breath. It allows you to take a beat. It allows you to be in the moment.

When someone close to you dies, it is not the big moments you remember, but small moments — the seemingly insignificant way Dave wheezed slightly when he laughed hard, or how he loved the way the earth smelled in the fall. If you can notice these moments, breathe them in, even for a second, then you have achieved success.

When someone close to you dies, it is not the big moments you remember, but small moments. If you can notice these moments, breathe them in, even for a second, on your way to the courtroom, or the office, then you have achieved success.

The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.

Do one thing at a time. Give each experience all your attention. Try to resist being distracted by other sights and sounds, other thoughts and tasks, and when it is, guide your mind back to what you're doing.