This Breath, This Moment: A Poem Inspired by Practicing Presence

We are always honored to hear how the practice of presence is touching lives. Recently, Dave Kraybill shared with us a beautiful poem he wrote after his morning sit on April 14, 2025, inspired by the teachings in Choosing Presence and the Practicing Presence mobile app. His words gently capture the spirit of what it means to breathe deeply, to feel fully, and to live each moment as sacred.

We’re grateful to Dave for allowing us to share this reflection as a living testament to the quiet transformation that presence can bring.

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This Breath, This Moment

by Dave Kraybill

In early morning hush,
while Earth begins to wake,
I sit among the trees,
cradled in the arms of Spring.
Above, a wren sings fervently,
declaring life, announcing hope.
A gentle breeze surrounds us,
these trees, these creatures, and me.

I breathe through inner caverns,
where joy and sorrow, light and care,
find common ground and come to rest.
I hold what's dear within my heart:
the laughter, the pain, the tears,
the fleeting beauty of each part
of life that comes, that lingers, that leaves.
Each in-breath asks, receives
strength to feel and then let go.
Each out-breath softly grieves
what’s gone, what's come undone.

Breath is fleeting, it cannot cling.
It holds the threads of all I love.
I let them flutter, bright and bold,
then rise like birds to skies above.
Through mysteries of nature,
we're a community of breathers -
creatures, plants, and humans -
bound by breathing out and breathing in.

Today I make this vow:
to pause, to breathe, to see, to feel —
to be fully here and now.
What's near, I cannot keep,
What's future, I cannot take.
But the present is a treasure,
Breathing, breathing from the heart.