Life has a rhythm to it.

And it changes. Often enough, but not so constant that you can’t observe it.

When I was a kid, I hated drinking milk. I didn’t like the flavor or the consistency. So to make the experience as painless as possible, I would chug it in one go and continue on with my meal. I was reminded of my tendency when I travelled to Italy with some girlfriends in April. Limoncello is a liqueur produced with the lemons from Italy’s beautiful Amalfi coast. Evidently, it is served at the end of a meal as a palette cleanser and is to be enjoyed. Well… it’s not my flavor. My friends and I always laughed when they’d approach us with complimentary limoncello servings (not shots) at the end of our meals. We would gracefully (and begrudgingly?) thank our server and chug our “shot.” I always laugh now when I see limoncello around at restaurants.

I’ve written about presence before. Some things and moments in life I prefer to “chug.” Other things, I am realizing, are asking me to be present with them for as long as I need in order to learn my lessons. This is proving to be a year of amazing growth and discovery so far. All emotions and moments are fleeting – joy, sadness, nostalgia, peace, contentment. Nothing lasts. So instead of rushing through everything, I am taking my time. Learning to appreciate how temporary everything is. Cherishing things because of their temporary nature. Really taking in and savoring my surroundings at this juncture in my life.

Pausing is also helpful to just check in with myself and touch base with my Soul, with my very best friend. I’m going to write a series on The Four Agreements later this year. Pausing lets me double check my self-love and self-respect – is the action I’m about to take expressing my integrity? Is the email or text I’m about to send practicing my impeccable word? Is my interpretation of this situation taking things personally or making assumptions? Am I honestly, truly, genuinely being and doing my current best? Taking a pause to breathe, or a few moments to journal, has greatly helped me these last few weeks.

I was trying to think of something to draw for this post, but nothing came to mind the way it usually does. As I walked into my apartment, I noticed this lovely plant! Must’ve walked by it thousands of times already but it never caught my eye until now. It tickles me that I usually need to practice whatever it is I write about for the current week. I paused, looked at old things in new ways, and found a moment of peace.

Life can fly by, but you are the pilot. How can you slow things down a bit? How can you pause and check in with your true self?