the beauty of now

balancing doing and being

A note from Maryland, in the middle of real life.

I’m writing this from my daughter’s couch in Maryland. My coffee is next to me, the sun is streaming in her living room, the dishwasher is humming, and I’m here, typing out some words to all of you. But, to be honest, I almost didn’t send a note this week.

Not because I didn’t have anything to say (my goodness, there’s always something stirring in my heart), but because I’ve been living what I usually write about.

I’ve been present. In the moment. Without an agenda. Without expectations.

It reminded me that presence is a practice. It’s not always natural in a world that glorifies hustle and doing. But presence?

It’s also sacred.

And it’s just as important as doing.

Last week, I wrote about the sacred strength of starting again (link). This week, I'm talking about why we start again, why we keep trying, and why starting again is actually living.

We start again so we don’t miss the moments that actually matter.
We start again, so we show up for the people who matter most.
We start again, so we live awake, not just on autopilot.

I know I can get so caught up in fixing life, figuring out life, or getting it right that I forget the power of simply living life.

Living life.

Living life is a balance between hustle and doing, between busy and rest, between the grind and the chill. For the last couple of days, I’ve chosen to be. And in the being I’ve created beautiful memories. I’ve celebrated my daughter’s birthday and I’ve sat with her laughing, eating, and being.

It is easy for me to default to thinking that it’s wasting time if I’m not productive and completing to-do items. But, friends, is it possible that this is just as productive and is the opposite of wasting time?

This is appreciating time.

I’m aware of this gift of now.

Life is a synergy of appreciating now and working towards tomorrow.

So this week, while I want you to be diligent in the doing and the dreams and the goal completing, I also want you to take some time to just be. To look up and see the world and to enjoy time with those you love.

It’s like that line, “The present is the present.”

Or as Master Oogway says in Kung Fu Panda, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

So yes, this is my short update from the gray couch in Maryland. And I’m okay with it being short because, friends, in just days, I’ll be back in Nashville, missing my daughter, and I want my memory to be, “I’m so grateful for our time together. Without an agenda.”

So this week? Yes — keep working on your dreams. Keep taking brave steps. But also? Be here. Look up. Laugh more. Let the dishes wait. Let the phone go unanswered. Sit in the sun. Make memories.

And trust this: sometimes the bravest thing you can do is be fully in your life.

That’s life; all in.

~Rachel

This is part of an ongoing series on rebuilding from the inside out — because starting again isn’t failure. It’s proof you’re still showing up.

In the full edition (for members), I’m sharing six more journal prompts and mini practices to help you slow down, trust yourself, and live this season fully.

Here’s one to get you started…

1. Ponder and Journal: Where in your life have you been rushing through the moments without really being in them?

Activity: Choose one daily routine (morning coffee, dinner, drive, bedtime) and intentionally slow it down today. Notice the details. Name them. Write it down. Take a moment to feel all of them. Be all there. I’ve looked back at some of my journals where I’ve written about daily moments, and I am so grateful for those details.