Sometimes a lot of time can pass without us noticing what has happened – we’re lost in thought and we haven’t paused to notice where we are, what state we’re in, if we’re breathing, how we’re being with other people, and other useful insights that may help us pay attention and change our course if needed. If we stopped regularly to just notice, we may find an opportunity to look away from the computer, take a deep breath, stop avoiding something, really listen, or whatever other good intentions we’ve had for our day.

Something I do regularly is set my beep-beep watch to go off every 15 minutes. When it goes off quietly I turn it off, I take a deeper breath and just become more present to my surroundings. Sometimes the 15 minutes seem to fly by, “the watch just went off – it’s going off again?” and other times the 15 minutes seem to take forever, “when is the watch going to beep?” Our culture here in Ottawa has a built in timer – the clock on Parliament Hill. It makes a sound every 15 minutes. If you’re within earshot, just pause for a moment – no one even needs to know you’re doing it – just take a moment to breathe more deeply (you could try the 3-part breath) and notice sensations in your body, notice where you are and who you’re with and just be fully present. Once you practice being present it becomes easier to be present more in your life. Being present in life opens up the possibility of ease and happiness and many other things we want in our lives. (Let me know if you need help setting the timer on your watch – I got good at it!)