Imagine it's 2 o'clock in the morning. You are slumped over your kitchen table,

bleary-eyed, squinting at your laptop. Empty coffee mugs and crumpled to-do list are all around you.

You're chasing a deadline or trying to get ahead for tomorrow, or maybe you're trying to distract yourself from the tightness in your chest

that's been building up all day, that gnawing sense, that no matter how much you accomplish,

it's never quite enough.

On nights like these, you feel like a hamster on a wheel, right?

I mean, you're caught in the cycle of frantic doing,

stuck in a loop of obligations and reactions.

The soft inhale, the soft exhale.

I want you to come back to the present moment.

I want you to come back to it right now. If you had your eyes closed, you can open them

or you can leave them close. We've all been there, right? I mean, when was the last time you

felt stretched? Like, far too thin, stretched. Like, you were pouring from an empty cup,

you were short-changing yourself,

or maybe your loved ones.

When's the last time you found yourself saying yes

to everything and everyone except your own needs?

We have this culture that glorifies busyness.

It's easy to lose sight of what really matters during the constant pings and dings and the endless streams of emails and meetings.

We say yes to every request, right? We actually pride ourselves with our packed schedules and we even wear the dark under eyes circles

like they're badges of honor, right?

We're proud of our grits and our dedication.

...