It’s Never Just
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“I’m just feeling off today.”
“Just tired.”
“Just trying to get through the week.”
We say these things all the time, don’t we?
But what if it’s never just anything?
What if “just” is the word we use to brush off something sacred?
A whisper of the soul.
A flicker of feeling.
A message from the greater wholeness we’re not simply a part of—but are.
Even the so-called "empty lot" at the end of the street isn’t just a forgotten patch of land.
It holds wildflowers, feeds bees, shelters life.
It’s part of a living system.
Nothing is in isolation.
Nothing is “just” anything.
And yet, when we feel off or heavy, we rush to patch it with something outside ourselves—
a scroll, a snack, a screen, a hit of dopamine.
We override the invitation to sit and listen.
To notice.
To revere.
So many ancient traditions were born from this act of presence.
Not from rushing to solve, but from choosing to observe.
Ayurveda. Qi Gong. The I Ching.
These weren’t quick fixes or productivity hacks.
They arose from reverent observation of nature’s rhythms—and the understanding that we, too, are nature.
By attuning to the essence in the world around them, these wisdom keepers learned how to honor the essence within.
What we eat, when we eat, how we move, and how we rest—
These are not mindless routines.
They are acts of devotion.
To eat in alignment with the season.
To choose movement that nourishes your spirit.
To care for the basic needs of body, mind, and soul—
is to say: this life is sacred.
It’s not just a piece of fruit.
Not just a morning stretch.
Not just a day passing by.
It’s a ritual of remembering.
A way of living that says: I am part of the whole, and the whole lives in me.
My 10-year-old told me the other day, “I want to work.”
And I paused. Not because I doubted his intention—but because I saw myself in that moment.
The version of me who once worked so much, and lived so little.
If work is an energy exchange, I ask myself now:
Is all the energy you spend working a fair exchange for the life you truly want to live?
Nowadays, I’ve come to realize—my real work is sacred.
It’s the soul work I do within.
The time I devote to listening.
To loving.
To living from reverence.
And in those quieter moments, I remember what Abraham Maslow once wrote:
"The sacred is in the ordinary... it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors, friends, and family, in one's own backyard."
Yes.
Even in a single hour of stillness.
Even in that breath you just took.
Even in the uneasy feeling you almost brushed off with a “just.”
Don’t live just another day.
Take three sacred minutes today to simply sit.
To feel the breath enter and leave your body.
To place a hand on your heart and remember: this life is yours.
This moment is holy.
When we reclaim reverence, we reclaim our wholeness.
We stop saying: “It’s just a tree,” or “just an hour,” or “just a phase.”
And instead, we begin to live like everything matters.
Because it does.
So do you.