What if This Moment is Exactly What You Need?

Weekly wisdom to level up your creative life in 3 minutes, for free.

A SHORT STORY

As the holidays approach, I imagine many of us are feeling the tension of the ever-growing to-do list. The rush, the deadlines, all of it can feel overwhelming.

This past week, I was on the phone with an old friend who shared something in passing. He spoke about "sitting in the discomfort."

He admitted that every part of him wanted to fast-forward through this challenging year, to just get it over with. But then he had a realization: skipping ahead would mean missing the joy of watching his kids grow up.

His words reminded me of why meditation can be so transformative. One of the most profound lessons it teaches is what happens when we simply sit with discomfort.

Picture this: you're meditating, and your mind is doing everything it can to escape. You're bombarded by thoughts, emotions, aches, and impatience. It feels endless. And then... the bell rings.

Suddenly, everything is fine.

But, nothing has actually changed. You're still in the same posture, with the same thoughts and sensations.

So, what’s different?

Maybe it has to do with resistance. The sound of the bell brings you into the present. You're no longer wrestling with what’s happening or wishing it away. You’re just there, with it, exactly as it is.

This realization has stayed with me, especially as I navigate my own week full of profound change.

I keep returning to a simple mantra, one that has offered me a sense of grounding:

What if this moment was my temple?
What if this was my place of awakening?

So, as we move through the chaos of the season, I invite you to join me in this thought:

What if we didn’t rush past the discomfort or try to fast-forward to the next chapter? What if, instead, we allowed ourselves to be fully present—right here, right now?

Because maybe, just maybe, this moment is exactly where we’re meant to be.

How can you create space today to embrace the present moment, even when it feels uncomfortable?

A CREATIVE TOOL

A recent study revealed that ChatGPT outperformed doctors by 16 percentage points in diagnosing medical conditions. While this remains a controversial topic, one thing is clear: the future lies in viewing AI not as a foe, but as a collaborator.

A PIECE OF ART

“Sweetness” by Stephen Dunn

Just when it has seemed I couldn’t bear
one more friend
waking with a tumor, one more maniac

with a perfect reason, often a sweetness
has come
and changed nothing in the world

except the way I stumbled through it,
for a while lost
in the ignorance of loving

someone or something, the world shrunk
to mouth-size,
hand-size, and never seeming small.

I acknowledge there is no sweetness
that doesn’t leave a stain,
no sweetness that’s ever sufficiently sweet.

Tonight a friend called to say his lover
was killed in a car
he was driving. His voice was low

and guttural, he repeated what he needed
to repeat, and I repeated
the one or two words we have for such grief

until we were speaking only in tones.
Often a sweetness comes
as if on loan, stays just long enough

to make sense of what it means to be alive,
then returns to its dark
source. As for me, I don’t care

where it’s been, or what bitter road
it’s traveled
to come so far, to taste so good.

Grateful,

Michael