In this personal vlog recorded on January 13, 2013, the speaker recounts an incident at a Starbucks where a nearby group of men engaged in overtly sexist and racist conversation. While trying to work, the speaker becomes aware of his own rising anger, judgment, and desire to confront them. He uses the moment to observe his internal reactions, noting a lack of compassion, empathy, and forgiveness toward both the speakers and himself. The core message, framed as a "moment of yes," encourages listeners to notice and manage their own thoughts and judgments rather than merely condemning others, emphasizing the practice of present‑moment awareness, self‑compassion, and mindful response.
Chapters
Sunday, January 13th. Here is your moment of yes for today. Now, I just got back from sort of my morning office time, and I was at Starbucks this morning, and I decided to work outside, which I typically don't do. And so as I was sitting outside, I was a few tables away from a group of guys that meet there every morning, and I'm trying to do my work, but I'm close enough earshot-wise that I can't help But overhear their conversation. And unfortunately, it wasn't the best of topics. There was a lot of sexism, racism, a lot of isms going on that to me personally, I found offensive. And now, during this time, I noticed my own thoughts, my own judgment, my condemnation, my anger, my frustration I felt my body reacting to the frustration and the anger, and especially really just sort of this judgment and wanting to give them a piece of my mind and wanting to set them straight. So I had this great opportunity this morning just to sit, to be present, and to notice my thoughts and my judgment and how I was letting someone else's ideas totally Have an impact on me. And as I sort of sat in that space and noticed my own thoughts running wild and my own judgment running wild, I noticed how in that space I had a lack of compassion and a lack of empathy and a lack of forgiveness. And that is what resonated most with me today. Not so much about what was wrong with them as much as How was I responding to this situation? And was grace being expressed by me? Was love and compassion and forgiveness being expressed? And the answer is no, it wasn't. And so my moment of yes for today is just for each of us to notice our own thoughts, our own judgments. I'm not saying I condone what they were talking about or their ideas, but that's not mine, that's theirs. Mine is handling my own thoughts. My own beliefs, my own judgments. So something I'm still sitting with this morning, and I'm sure I'll continue to work with, but wanted to, to put that out to you all today since it was very raw in my thought. So that is your moment of yes for today. Have a wonderful day.
