Well, as I promised I would do yesterday, today I tried to focus on just one small thing, something to remind me of how simple it can be to live simply. So I dug back into my toolbox to one of the simplest “challenges” of the past 234 days: just sit.

Today was another long day of meetings spread out all over campus. My first meeting was at 9am. I pulled into a campus parking lot close to my destination somewhere just before 8:45. I had just a few minutes’ walk ahead of me, so I just stood there (OK, not technically sitting I realize, but close enough!) and watched the fog start to roll in over the mountains. I tried not to think about what I needed to do next, and instead I just watched the clouds and fog move across the sky.

Then off I walked to my first destination of the day and had my meeting. After that appointment, I scrambled across campus for my second rendezvous, but not without pausing for a moment on a walkway up some stairs to look out at the clouds again. A light rain had started to fall, but instead of dashing off toward the building I was heading toward, I let myself linger in the light falling mist.

And then I was off to my next meeting. And so on.

Throughout the day, I took a moment to pause whenever I could. Sometimes for four or five minutes, and sometimes just for a brief moment. Regardless of the length of time, though, I gave myself those moments to just be where I was, right then and right there–not between appointments, but in the moment.

It was a minor victory, but an important one. I needed a reminder of how easy it is to return to the most basic practice of being present–just by stopping, looking, and listening.