23 seconds to a smile 😀

A moment to smile

Last Thursday, my friend Josh and I visited Central Park in New York City to spread kindness to strangers. We met two women studying medicine in Brazil and Jaime, who had moved from Argentina and shared his mixed feelings about New York – hating the city but loving the park.

We navigated those first awkward seconds of greeting strangers. Some waved us away after a simple “Hi.” Hundreds rushed past, tuned into their AirPods (I hoped they were listening to The Kintsugi Podcast!), while many others met us with welcoming, like-hearted energy.

Our conversations about life and gratitude were brief, lasting five to ten minutes, but they sparked laughter, tears, and connection. Interestingly, no one mentioned material possessions. Instead, they focused on health, nature, and relationships.

We asked if they knew how many breaths they take daily—no one did. It’s understandable; breathing is automatic, so we often overlook its life-giving importance.

So, let’s pause momentarily: Place your hand on your heart and feel it beating. Amazing, right? Now, take a full inhale—1, 2, 3, 4, 5—notice your lungs expanding, then release the breath 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Isn’t it incredible what one breath can do for us?

I shared my story about unexpected events that can take your breath away and the importance of not taking life for granted. What I didn’t share was this:

Two years ago, while cycling across America, I received a message from a nurse who had been urgently called to my trauma room twenty years earlier. After I left the ICU, she came to check on me, going beyond her job description. At the time, I was in traction, in pain, and cognitively limited, so I didn’t remember our conversation. But when I received her message, it all came flooding back—it was a box-of-Kleenex moment as I realized our discussion was deep within me. 

A well-lived life is connected, mindful, and full of exploration and curiosity. It involves moving with life instead of against it, learning to pause, breathe, and reflect on how you truly wish to show up in life and at work. It’s about slowing down to dance with strangers and holding loved ones so tightly you feel like one. It’s about noticing the first sensation of an exhale, your heart beating, a meadowlark singing, and the sun warming your face.

We cultivate more love, compassion, forgiveness, understanding, and awareness through listening, mindfulness, acceptance, and conversation. It’s how we create belonging and realize that we are each other.

If taking that one breath above felt refreshing and you’re not part of our Pause Breathe Reflect App community (yet), today is your day to join us and discover the power of your breath and community. For your first year, you can Pay What You Can, so you don’t have much to lose and so much to gain. You can join by clicking PBR.

Until next week, have fun storming the castle* and Happy Bastille Day! 🇫🇷
*Today’s Pause Breathe Reflect meditation is about the meaning of this saying. 

Peace + Kindness,
Michael

P.S. We asked those we met to name everything they are grateful for in twenty-three seconds, and after they were done, everyone smiled. 😀

I will be sharing their videos on Instagram over the next few weeks. If you want to record your video, please send it to me HERE and I will ripple it forward.

p.s.s., Tomorrow (July 15) is the last day to get a FREE copy of my best-selling book, ‘My Last Bad Day Shift.’ If you would like a copy, click LBD.