Think about the last time you stood in line at your favorite coffee shop.

The grinder humming behind the counter, the person ahead of you deciding between milks, and an empty moment right in front of you. Before thinking about what to do, your phone was already in your hand, distracting yourself from the boredom.

I cringe when I think back to all the moments I’ve reached for my phone during these empty moments, whether it was at a coffee shop or waiting for my dentist appointment as the drill sounded off down the hall.

What could have been a moment to let my mind wander became a moment where I was hypnotized by something that didn’t deserve my attention. It’s like I buried my head underground, missing the life that was in front of me.

Even though we’ve learned that we can fill these gaps with digital noise to entertain ourselves, we’re missing out on a chance to sit with our own thoughts and feelings.

We’ve decided that instead of meeting life where it idles, we’d rather run away from what might be hiding in that moment by putting something in front of our faces. But it’s in those moments you can revisit the half-formed thought you’ve been avoiding or the feelings you’ve been stuffing down.

These moments where life stands still are not new. People have always waited, long before we were ever alive. They sat in horse-drawn carriages for hours on rough roads, ate slow meals without their phones, and stared at the wall of a doctor's lobby with nothing to do but think.

But the only difference is that we now have an instant exit. In seconds, you can reach into your pocket and grab hold of the digital world to distract you from the boredom that’s baked into life and there to gain clarity through.

So, this is the invitation.

Start to see these empty moments as opportunities to be with your own thoughts and feelings. It might feel unnatural at first, but challenge yourself to sit in the empty moments your day brings.

When you’re waiting for your friend to come pick you up at your house, your natural reflex might be to reach for your phone. Resist the urge to do it. Allow yourself to revel in the temporary nothingness.

Listen closely and notice what comes up. The thoughts you’re tinkering with, the feelings that are pulling you, and the ideas or connections you might not have realized before.

Life’s full of empty moments.

As you look around your day, you might notice they’ve been around you all this time, but you’ve been so quick to distract yourself that you never realized it.

Every one of these moments is gold. And because they’re built into your everyday life, without having to do much, that’s free gold waiting for you to cash in on it.

If you want to tap into more creativity, even if you don't think you're creative, this is the place to jump in.

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