I hope this finds you well, and I’d like to start off the year by wishing you a healthy, joyful, and meaningful 2026.

Recently, I found myself feeling somewhat unsettled by the state of the world, along with a few personal challenges that – while not long-term issues – were still difficult to navigate. I felt particularly vulnerable and in need of a practice to cultivate resilience and inner strength. During that time, I was reminded of a practice that my meditation community and I have returned to over the years whenever we’ve needed to feel more grounded.

With that in mind, this month I’d like to share the Mountain Meditation, a twenty-minute guided practice by Jon Kabat-Zinn, to support what many of the leaders I work with describe as executive presence – a sense of confidence, calm, and focus – particularly during difficult and uncertain times.

Here’s How the Mountain Meditation Can Help

• Offers guidance for a properly aligned seated posture, whether in a chair (for most humans!) or on the floor
• Cultivates a feeling of being centered, rooted, and calm during periods of challenge, change, and uncertainty
• Uses the image of the most beautiful mountain you have seen– or can imagine – to evoke a feeling of strength and stability in the body
• Highlights that thoughts, emotions, and inner storms, though they feel personal and permanent, are impersonal in nature and will pass when met with awareness and kind attention

This Month’s Favorite Resources

The Mountain Meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn: Click here for the guided meditation on Sound Cloud (you will be asked to sign in and sent a passcode) or click here for the meditation on YouTube (both are 20 minutes) OR click here for the guided mountain meditation script

The Drive Podcast: Click here to listen to The Impact of Gratitude, Serving Others, Embracing Mortality, and Living Intentionally with Walter Green and Peter Attia. Walter Green is a remarkable philanthropist, mentor, author of This Is the Moment!, and founder of the impactful “Say It Now” movement. (1.5 hours)

The Wall Street Journal (for subscribers): Click here to read What Readers Want to See in the Workplaces of the Future. (Jan 5, 2026)

The New York Times (for subscribers): Click here to read or listen to This Question Can Change Your Life on The Ezra Klein Show with Stephen Batchelor, author of many books on Buddhism and meditation. (Jan 2, 2026)

A Poem by Wendy Cope – The Orange

At lunchtime I bought a huge orange–

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave–

And that orange, it made me so happy.

As ordinary things often do

Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.

This is peace and contentment. It’s new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.

I did all the jobs on my list

And enjoyed them and have some time over.

I love you. I’m glad I exist.