I start most days, after my morning routine of stretching and sometimes a walk, with a writing session to "set my intent." This means that I write something about how I might like to experience the day or what I might be like at the end of the day, creating a life worthy to feast on memory and made-up moments. How do you start your day? How do you craft your days with intention?

It is so easy for us to habituate to our world, to stop noticing the intimacy of life and things and even activity around us. This excerpt from my Daily Intent writing session reminds me to widen my gaze and reacquaint myself with my world. I am always surprised at the richness and fullness of my life when I take the time to notice. What beauty, what gift, do you miss in the world around you as you narrow your gaze to an activity or destination?

Something in me says, “Enough.” I slow my gait. I stop scanning for what is missing. I stop chasing after a changing horizon and the elusive freedom for which I have longed. Now, I walk on this earth, in this body. I let each footstep hit the ground, each inhale fill my lungs, each heartbeat warm my world...what happens for you when you return to yourself in the moment?

Although I am not affiliated with any religion, my writing often takes on heavily spiritual themes and images. This excerpt from my daily intent writing session produced a cathedral as a metaphor for my future presence.  If your future were symbolized by a building or structure, what kind of building would it be? What goes on inside the structure? What life does it support or suggest?