I just returned home from a meeting of Social Venture Network in Chicago (www.svn.org). What an amazing group of business and non-profit leaders! SVN’s mission is to “inspire a community of business and social leaders to build a just economy and sustainable planet.” I’ve been a member of SVN for about 15 years and am currently a member of the Board of Directors. This organization is composed of about 60% for-profit leaders and 40% leaders from the not-for-profit-world.

Begin by bringing your attention to your breath and body. Take a few deep breaths, breathing all the way in and all the way out. See if you can notice when your exhale ends and your inhale begins.
With each breath, let go of the thoughts and concerns of the day. As thoughts and feelings arise, note them, and bring your attention back to your breath, and to your body.

In writing and speaking about my new book Less, I find myself recently substituting the word “posturing” for the word busyness. The problem with busyness is that it has a quality of avoiding, that leads to a kind of pretending, or posturing. This kind of posturing can become a habit and can be almost invisible. Whereas posturing can at times be a useful strategy, we can become so adept that we can even fool ourselves, subtly, or not so subtly.

I’ve read that in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition it is sometimes said that when many things seem to go wrong at once it is because something special and beautiful is waiting to be born, waiting to emerge. Whatever is waiting to be born needs you to be distracted by all of these things going wrong, so that you don’t get in the way, so that it can emerge as beautiful as possible. I’ve been pondering this idea ever since: things going wrong, what is wanting to emerge, and getting out of the way.