Presence

At the table

Family time often arrives as an ordinary evening. Being there for it is what makes it matter.

No signature

Wanting to be somewhere else doesn't cancel out enjoying where you are. Both can sit inside the same ordinary day without one undoing the other.

The tally

Silence isn't the gap between the work. Holding it takes something and it leaves no record. Half your strength never made the tally.

The allowance

Three minutes in the driveway with the song still going. Then the hand goes to the dial. Nobody set that limit on how loud you get to live.

Same books

Pride and attachment sound like opposites but they run the same accounts. The calm ones haven't let go. They've closed the books.

Enough

The frustration lands after lunch, right on cue. But enough was never a number you reach. It's a line that retreats the moment you walk towards it.

Her calling

A week ago I was her. Same road. Same camera. Same hope of red-tails. She just didn't know I'd been her. That the calling had already happened.

Still calling

I drove hours into the bush for a red-tailed black cockatoo that didn't show. Every other bird was still calling.

No service

One night in the bush with no service, no scroll, and nowhere for the attention to land. Boredom is newer than we think.

Camera curse

Wedge-tailed eagle overhead. Currawong in the yard. Jumping spider on the dash. Perfect shots only appear when the camera's at home.

The scale

Standing under the night sky resets what matters. From down here your problems look enormous. From up there they're already dust.

Borrowed time

Breath is borrowed. The body will change. But the mind stays yours until the very end. That's where the attention belongs.

No proof

Some moments stay longest when we stop trying to capture them. The proof was never the point.

No hurry

Three elderly people on a bridge watching traffic. They've already figured out what we keep postponing.

The watcher

Behind every thought there's something watching. Not judging. Just present. You've never been alone in your own head.

The narrator

As children we just felt things. Now we narrate every moment before it lands. We hired a commentator we never asked for.

Unchecked

Every box ticked. Week productive. But you haven't called your mate in six weeks. The list never includes what matters most.

No passport

We book flights and fight traffic to find calm. But what if the destination you're searching for doesn't need a passport?

Texture shift

A lifetime of hating the beach dissolves in a single moment of stillness. The sand that irritated becomes a mirror.

Waiting room

We treat the present like a waiting room. Somewhere to sit until the real thing arrives. But this is the destination.

Calendar amnesia

When every day is a task list, weeks vanish without a trace. Presence isn't about doing less. It's about noticing more.

Unsigned gifts

We wait for blessings that announce themselves. But most of what saves us arrives quietly and never signs its name.

Golden hour

Golden hour opens a threshold. For a few minutes the world reveals itself. All it asks is that you stay.

Small again

Under the stars, problems lose their weight. Smallness isn't defeat. It's the point.

Sit with it

Not every feeling needs fixing. Some just need space to exist. Sitting with discomfort is its own kind of work.

Through a lens

A small moment missed while taking a photo. Sometimes recording an experience pulls us out of actually being there.

Full table

Christmas hosting can slip into stress. This is a reminder that presence matters more than perfection and shared time is the real point.

On time

A small moment where losing track of time revealed how attention shapes our experience of it. Presence changes the pace.

Old faces

Seeing old friends reminds us how rare shared time can be. Presence turns a brief reunion into a moment that lasts.

Good company

Unstructured time with friends builds connection and perspective. Shared moments matter more than plans, progress, or productivity.

Making meaning

Meaning isn’t in the sign itself. It’s in how intention sharpens attention and makes everyday beauty easier to notice.

In a hurry

Side note

A small offhand comment can quietly reset your focus and bring attention back to what matters most.

Stepping forward

There’s a moment when pushing stops working. Clarity comes from honesty, allowing a cycle to close and a fuller self to step forward.

River mind

When plans change, frustration rises. Flow with the shift and keep moving instead of fighting what you can’t control.

Morning guard

Trust the day but prepare for bumps. A Stoic take on starting steady.

Old weight

Worry often comes from old experiences. We project past tension onto future moments and forget the present is usually lighter.

Quiet river

A quiet moment in nature shifts into real presence. Birds get louder, thoughts get softer, and the magic becomes obvious.

Early calm

A quiet early morning before the city wakes. Sunshine, still air, and a reminder that magic needs space to breathe.

Little buzz

A bee flew past and buzzed back when I said hello. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was saying hello back.

Clearing skies

It felt like I carried sunshine wherever I went. Maybe light follows where it’s felt most.

Signal in the web

The mirror spider always appears when I head to Coles. Maybe it’s nothing or maybe we move on the same thread.

Near Miss

A close call taught me the difference between fear and gratitude. The moment passed, and that was enough.

The Long Way

We rush to save minutes and miss what makes them worth living. Sometimes the longer way is the better one.

Catching up

When life moves too fast the soul lags behind. Stillness isn’t wasted time; it’s how you let yourself catch up.

Last song

A magpie’s last warble reminds us that rest isn’t earned by achievement. It’s simply part of the rhythm.

Extra time

Public transport takes longer, but the extra minutes are a gift. Time to think, read, or just sit. Not all delays are setbacks.

Morning song

Birds sing every morning, not because the world is perfect but because the day has begun. Maybe that’s reason enough for us to start too.

Looking up

Instead of hiding in a phone while waiting, notice the sun, the people, and the world moving on. Not every pause needs filling.

Sky racers

Lorikeets race like F1s through the sky. If you hear them, don’t wait. Look up. Some things are only magic if you’re present to catch them.