Presence, Spring, and the Gift of Awareness
Can you hear the geese in the background?
That is one of the things I love most about spring, nature slowly, gently making itself known again. The birds start singing before the sun is even up. And even in the city, that song reaches us.
It is a reminder that there is more to tune into if we are willing to listen.
Lately, I have been asking myself: What is important to me right now?
What am I hearing, not just from the world, but from within?
The Call to Presence
There is a book I read years ago that changed my relationship with being present. It’s called My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist who experienced a massive stroke and, incredibly, was able to observe it from inside her own brain.
She lost almost everything, speech, motor function, identity and slowly rebuilt herself, neuron by neuron, over eight years.
What she gained in that process was an extraordinary understanding of what it means to be present.
She described how you can come back to your body, your breath, your five senses, and how powerful that can be for healing, clarity, and awareness. I remember her talking about tuning into the sensations of your environment: the scent of the room, the feeling of the air on your skin, the background noises beyond the phone call. It is not about shutting the world out. It is about welcoming it back in.
Why This Matters So Much Right Now
As someone who teaches women how to lead, on boards, in business, in life, I think we often forget this:
Being present is a leadership practice.
Being present in our body, our relationships, and our purpose, these are the building blocks of integrity and clarity.
This hits especially close to home for me. My husband is living with Alzheimer’s. I have watched firsthand what it means to lose brain function, to slowly retreat from the awareness and connectivity that we often take for granted.
It is devastating, not just for the individual, but for everyone who loves them.
There are millions of people around the world walking this journey right now. And we don’t know yet why those numbers are rising so quickly. But I hope that someday we will find not only causes, but cures, and that until then, we will honor the importance of brain health, of self-awareness, of staying present with those we love.
A Spring Invitation
As the season shifts and life picks up speed, I invite you to:
Pause before your next call.
Listen for the birds.
Breathe into your own body.
Ask yourself what matters, right now.
Because being present isn’t a luxury.
It’s not a retreat.
It’s the way back to ourselves.
