This morning I had a flat tire. Not a metaphor. A real, rubber-meets-curb, you’re-not-going-anywhere kind of flat. I did what anyone would do: cursed, checked the time, opened my calendar, closed my calendar, considered calling an Uber, then remembered… I had nowhere that urgent to be. So I sat on the curb. Just sat. And something weird happened. I noticed things. A kid kicking a soda can down the sidewalk. A barista opening the café across the street. The smell of fresh bread. It felt like the first time in weeks I wasn’t cramming minutes into boxes. I ended up walking to that café. No phone, no podcast, no distraction. Just me, a cappuccino, and a feeling I hadn’t had in a while: Present. | 