Dear Reader,

A few weeks ago, I shared some thoughts about the heavy blueprints and external "shoulds" we carry—the rules and expectations that cloud our true voice and make us feel like we constantly need to ensure everyone around us is cared for and contained.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what happens when we choose to pause and look beneath all that noise.

I’m a huge fan of analogies and the one that comes to mind is the ocean. On the surface, the waves can swish, churn, and chop. The white foam might look chaotic and noisy—much like the daily mental load of keeping up, people-pleasing, and managing life. But if you sink just a few metres below, down into the deep blue... everything changes. It settles. There is a profound, heavy, quiet stillness there, untouched by the weather above.

Similarly, if you look up to the sky: so often we get caught up in the weather systems of our minds. We get lost in the heavy storm clouds, the winds of a busy week, or the fog of exhaustion. And we start to identify with the weather.

And we forget to connect back to the sky.

The sky is the observing, present, "being" space. It holds the storm, yes, but it is not defined by it. The sky is aware, vast, and non-reactive. It just lets the weather pass through.

Inside you, right now, beneath the blueprints and behind the rules, there is both the deep water and the open sky. There is a part of you that is already still, even if the busyness of the day has made you lose touch with it.

If you have a moment right now, I wonder if you can reconnect with it?

Wherever you are reading this, I invite you:

Close your eyes if it feels safe to do so.

Settle your breath. Just let it drop into its natural rhythm.

And find some comfort right where you are sitting or standing.

Now, begin to watch what happens.

Notice your sensations—maybe it’s a tight shoulder, a sore neck, or the cool temperature of the air on your skin. Notice the thoughts that float into your mind and drift away. The to-do lists, the memories, the "shoulds."

Notice how they rise, and how they fall.

These are just weather patterns. They are just the surface waves.

Now... notice yourself noticing these things.

Tune into that awareness. That is your sky. That is your deep water. That is the authentic, quiet stillness that is just you.

We aren't designed to stay here all the time. We have active, engaging lives, and we have to navigate the weather. But the practice isn’t about stopping the rain or pretending the waves aren't churning; it’s about defusing yourself from the clouds and returning to the "being" as often as you can.

Take one more deep, settling breath.

And as you head into the weekend ahead, look up every so often and remember the sky above it all.

With love and warmth, Zac ♥

Dr Zac Elizabeth Buchanan | Clinical Psychologist​
The Return
​drzacelizabeth.com @dr.zacelizabeth​