Today’s contemplation had me confronting that life rarely affords moments of quiet contemplation for deep thinking, especially if you want a life with family, friends, career. Some call this a world of distractions and there’s truth to that, but some of these things aren’t “distractions.” They’re life. Your partner wants to connect with you or update you on important information. Your kids need something. Your coworkers are messaging to ask for help.

And a mind constantly being pulled in so many directions loses its center, depth, and calm to meet life with presence. Sometimes we do need to protect our time, if only a few moments, to check inside on what we think or believe so we’re not just reacting.

As I started this I remembered this wisdom from the Hagakure: “When your mind is going hither and thither, discrimination will never be brought to a conclusion. With an intense, fresh and undelaying spirit, one will make his judgments within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break right through to the other side.”

Seven deep and slow breaths seems too little for immense decisions but it’s actually quite a lot of time. It’s enough breath to still the body and soothe the mind so our deeper wisdom can emerge. It’s also not so much time that everyone around us loses patience. It’s easier to ask for. “I need a moment to think and I’m going to take seven breaths.”