Start With Presence: Transform Ordinary Moments Into Change
Created at: September 3, 2025
Presence turns ordinary moments into foundations for change—start there. — Eckhart Tolle
Beginning Where You Are
Tolle’s cue—“start there”—locates transformation not in distant goals but in the immediacy of the present. Presence, as he frames it in The Power of Now (1997), is the clear, unembroidered attention we bring to whatever is happening. By meeting an ordinary breath, step, or conversation without resistance, we create a stable ground from which new choices become possible.
How Attention Rewires Possibility
Building on that, neuroscience shows why presence is catalytic. Sara Lazar’s MRI research (2005) links mindfulness practice with cortical thickening in areas tied to attention and sensory processing, suggesting that sustained awareness reshapes the brain. Likewise, Judson Brewer et al. (2011) found decreased default mode network activity during meditation, a shift associated with less rumination. When the mind is less entangled in autopilot narratives, we can perceive small, workable openings for action embedded in everyday moments.
Micro-Moments, Macro Shifts
From brain to behavior, presence turns tiny cues into levers. BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits (2019) and James Clear’s Atomic Habits (2018) both argue that small, consistent actions compound into meaningful change; presence supplies the noticing that makes these micro-choices visible. Consider a commuter who feels stress surge and, catching it, takes three slow breaths before replying to an email—an ordinary pause that prevents a cascade of reactivity and establishes a new pattern. As Charles Duhigg shows in The Power of Habit (2012), seeing the cue is the hinge of the whole loop.
Relational Presence as Everyday Leadership
Moreover, presence reshapes how we meet others. Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975) describes listening as a form of compassion that de-escalates conflict. In the same spirit, Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication (2003) teaches pausing to distinguish observation from judgment. Picture a nurse who, before entering a room, centers on one breath; that brief anchoring changes tone, questions, and trust. In workplaces and families alike, such grounded attention becomes a quiet form of leadership that ripples outward.
Ancient Roots of Ordinary Sacredness
Historically, many traditions have treated the mundane as sacred training ground. Zen’s tea ceremony elevates pouring water into practice; Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations (c. 180) counsels returning to the present task; Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God (c. 1692) finds devotion in washing pots. These echoes align with Tolle’s claim: transformation does not require exotic conditions. Rather, by inhabiting what is already here, we uncover the first, reliable foothold for change.
Simple Ways to Start Today
Finally, translate presence into rituals small enough to keep. Use anchors you already meet: one breath before unlocking your phone; feeling your feet as you stand up; a three-second exhale before speaking your first sentence in meetings. Bookend the day with two attention check-ins—morning intention, evening reflection—no more than one minute each. Over time, these ordinary touchpoints become threaded foundations, quietly supporting changes that once seemed out of reach.