Hello and welcome to another edition of Mindfulness Plus.

I'm your host Thomas McConkey.

Thanks so much for downloading us today.

It's funny as I do that introduction, I realize

that it's the same tone, the same cadence every week. It's as kind of unique as my own gate

or the sound of my own voice. That's just how the introduction goes. I've thought about changing it,

the wording, the inflections, and now I just kind of let it rip like breathing.

Hello, welcome to another episode of Mindfulness Plus.

So I have a story today. This made me so happy when it happened.

It makes me happy to reflect on and it makes me happy to know that I get to share this story with you.

If you've listened to Mindfulness Plus before you know that I'm always looking for stories and just very ordinary day-to-day life experiences that point us to profound truths and openings on this path of transformation

and waking up. So it was in early April that I was flying from Salt Lake City to British Columbia for a retreat.

But first I'll say that, you know, this part of the world I have a deep affinity with.

I grew up my first three years or so.

I was in the Seattle area when my father was in law school.

And many years later, I started teaching retreats in Seattle.

And, you know, so about four times a year, sometimes five, I'd travel up to the Pacific Northwest and just drink in the air.

I think of Jack Kerouac's line in his novel On the Road.

He said, air so thick you can kiss.

It felt like that.

When I went back to Seattle after all those years away,

it was just amazing to be breathing the air in

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