I’ve been following your travels but until recently, felt like I didn’t have time in my life to actually think about what to write and then type something as a reply (which is pretty silly now that I think about it).

Five weeks ago I decided my stress level was getting way out of hand, and decided to resign from the startup I was at.

I’ve noticed my stress level is more about how I am inside, than what’s happening outside. Stress happens when I’m remembering the 1000 things I’ve learned in the past, and using than knowledge to try and make the future be a certain way. It’s very much NOT being in the immediate here and now. I also now notice the times I feel most relaxed and peaceful, which seems to be when I’m deeply experiencing the immediate moment, and not thinking about the past or the future. A perfect example is every Sunday afternoon I now go swimming in Berkeley. There is no agenda to swim laps, or learn anything specific, or perform for anybody else. Usually there are only half a dozen other people in the fairly large pool and there is lots of freedom to just enjoy the water (which at 92 degrees, is very warm as pools go), and be in the rhythm of breathing. I notice the sensation of water flowing across my body, and how my body interacts with the water moment to moment.

I hope you two are fully experiencing the moment you are in. THIS is the ONLY moment there REALLY is. Every other moment is just a memory of the past or fantasy of the future.

Of course modern life seems to require we spend at least some energy out of the present moment, but perhaps a vacation is an opportunity to shift the balance to the here and now for a while.

For those of you feeling a need for an information fix, a friend recently sent an interesting link about the very subject I’m talking about, http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229

Jan

Daddy