When the clocks turn back and the days grow shorter, it’s easy to feel like something’s slipping away. But these darker days remind us to pause, to look back just long enough to learn — and then to return our eyes to the road ahead, moving forward with a little more peace and presence.
Last weekend, Emily and I were in Chicago — and it just happened to be marathon weekend. Watching the runners brought back a flood of memories from my own eight Chicago Marathons. What stood out most wasn’t race day, but the training — the quiet, consistent miles that no one sees. Those “treadmill days” taught me that the real work happens long before the finish line.
On one of those long solo runs years ago, something clicked: the most important mile isn’t the one ahead or behind — it’s the one I’m in. It’s the only mile I can enjoy, and the only one I can do anything about. That truth has carried me through recovery and through life — a reminder to stay present in the mile I’m living right now.
Golf will test your patience — not just with your own swing, but with the actions of others. Just like life, people will sometimes “hit into us” — push too hard, disrupt our peace, or act in ways we think they shouldn’t. We can’t stop that from happening. What we can do is decide whether to feed the anger or to step aside and play our own game with presence.
This weekend, my daughter married the love of her life. As I reflect on the day, I am struck by the gift of presence —
Practicing Equanimity on Isle Royale Driving home after my seaplane flight back from a six-day solo backpacking adventure on Isle Royale—a rugged wilderness in the
Letting Go of the Old Me: Recovery as a Practice of Becoming There’s a moment in recovery when we realize: We’re not just giving up
From Hiding to Here: How Presence Became My Practice By Don Phelps For most of my life, I lived in two places: I was everywhere…
My fall from grace wasn’t just professional. It was spiritual. It shattered the identity I’d built over decades. And in that emptiness, I began to confront truths I’d been running from for years.
