I just got back from Colorado where I spent a week relaxing, re-energizing and revisiting the key values in my life. The lodge where I stayed is called Peaceful Valley, and it has a chapel on the premises. Ive been to Peaceful Valley and to this chapel many times over the years. The chapel is at the end of a steep ten-minute hike, which has become a ritual for me. The view at the top — a part of the Rocky Mountain range — is breathtaking.
On the way down one morning I was in a hurry and going too fast for the terrain. I nearly fell. There were lots of rocks, and it was easy to hit a wobbly one and slip.
I slowed down, took a deep breath, and placed my foot down purposefully on the next rock, and then the next. I soon sped up and had to slow myself down again.
I decided that even if I was late, I would place each foot consciously every time I took a step. It took a lot for me to do this. But it turned out to be an amazing centering and meditative practice. One rock at a time — that’s all I chose to think about. And I was suddenly more aware of everything — the sound of the wind, the chattering of birds and squirrels, and the...