When was the last time you allowed yourself to simply be? Not catching up on something, planning your next move, or using a quiet moment to mentally organize your life. Just being present, without feeling the need to accomplish anything.

For many of us, this can be surprisingly uncomfortable. We sit down to rest, and within moments, we’re reaching for our phones, remembering something that needs our attention, or feeling that familiar urge to get up and do something productive. Even when life gives us an opportunity to slow down, we have a tendency to fill the space.

And I find this fascinating, because we often say we want more peace in our lives, yet when a peaceful moment presents itself, we don’t always know what to do with it.

Part of what happens is that we become accustomed to a certain level of activity within our own energy systems. The mind is constantly anticipating, evaluating, remembering, and preparing. The body becomes familiar with that internal pace, and eventually, all of that activity begins to feel normal. We may not even recognize how much energy we’re using simply to keep ourselves mentally occupied.

This is one of the reasons meditation can be such a revealing experience. When we stop moving and remove the usual distractions, we begin to notice what’s actually happening within us. We may discover tension we hadn’t realized we were carrying, emotions that haven’t had our attention, or a mind that seems determined to keep us busy. Rather than seeing these experiences as interruptions, we can begin to recognize them as opportunities to become more conscious of the patterns we’ve been living in.

I teach that we are energetic beings having a physical experience. And when we bring our awareness into the body, we begin to access a deeper dimension of ourselves that exists beyond the mind’s constant need to manage our experience. We aren’t trying to become someone different or achieve some perfect state of calm. We’re learning to recognize the presence and wholeness that have been here all along.

The beautiful thing is that we don’t need an hour of uninterrupted silence to begin practicing this. We can take a few conscious breaths before starting the car, feel our feet connecting with the earth while walking outside, or simply notice the sensations within the body before moving into the next activity. These moments allow us to interrupt the habit of constantly reaching outside ourselves for something to occupy our attention.

And gradually, we may discover that stillness isn’t empty at all. There is an aliveness within it, a sense of connection and possibility that we can easily overlook when we’re caught up in the activity of the mind.

So perhaps the next time you find yourself with a few unexpected moments of quiet, resist the urge to immediately fill them. Allow yourself to be present. Notice what arises, breathe into your body, and become curious about what you might experience when there is nothing you need to do.

Because sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do is give ourselves permission to simply be.