Just Be: The Radical Act of Embracing Presence

Picture this: a Sunday afternoon in a quiet park. The sun warms your face, the soft rustle of leaves plays in the breeze, and the distant hum of life carries on. But instead of soaking it in, your mind races: deadlines, texts left unanswered, that awkward thing you said last week.

Sound familiar?

For many of us, "just being" feels as foreign as speaking another language. Our culture reveres busyness, productivity, and intellect, leaving us disconnected from our bodies and trapped in our thoughts. But what if the key to peace isn’t about fixing your thoughts but learning to drop into your body?

If you’ve ever found yourself yearning to escape the endless loop of thoughts but feel like traditional mindfulness practices are too "mind-based," you’re not alone. Many of us need a different route to presence.

While mindfulness, meditation, and mind-based exercises have transformative potential, they aren't a one-size-fits-all solution. For some, particularly those with highly cognitive or analytical personalities, trauma survivors, or individuals in the grip of severe depression or mental health crises, these practices can feel ineffective or even triggering. Others, like those with ADHD, strong avoidance tendencies, or deeply ingrained results-oriented mindsets, may find traditional mindfulness approaches challenging due to restlessness, discomfort with introspection, or impatience for quick results.

Why Are Some of Us So ‘Mind-Based’?

Many of us live primarily in our heads, a tendency shaped by upbringing, education, and societal conditioning.

Psychoanalysis tells us that this split between mind and body often begins in early life. Children who grow up in environments where emotions are overwhelming, unpredictable, or dismissed may learn to retreat into their minds for safety. Over time, this reliance on thinking becomes a default coping mechanism, leaving the body’s wisdom ignored.

Science supports this, too. Research shows that overthinking activates the brain’s default mode network (DMN), the part associated with rumination and worry. Being in the body, through breathwork, movement, or sensory experiences deactivates the DMN, shifting us into a state of calm presence.

Here’s how to discover the joy of just being—no spreadsheets, self-help books, or apps required.

1. Start by Befriending Your Breath

Breathing is your built-in tool for presence. It bridges the conscious and unconscious, offering a way to reconnect with the body without effort.

Try this:

●      Find a quiet space.

●      Inhale deeply through your nose, feeling your chest rise.

●      Exhale slowly, releasing tension with the breath.

●      Rest in the natural rhythm of your breathing, like waves lapping at a shore.

Psychoanalytically speaking, the breath also symbolises life force and vitality. By focusing on it, you not only ground yourself but symbolically embrace your own aliveness.

2. Ground Yourself in Sensation

The mind loves to spin stories. The body, however, speaks in sensations: the warmth of sunlight, the texture of fabric, the feeling of your feet on solid ground. A practice like a body scan meditation can gently guide you from headspace to embodied awareness.

Here’s how:

●      Sit or lie down. Close your eyes.

●      Bring your attention to your feet. Are they warm or cool? Heavy or light?

●      Slowly work your way up the body - ankles, knees, hips, pausing at each point to notice without judgment.

This practice helps unearth stored emotions often held in the body. You may find that as you reconnect with physical sensations, unprocessed feelings rise to the surface. This is part of the healing process.

3. Let Nature Be Your Teacher

Nature is the ultimate "being" role model. Trees don’t strive to grow; rivers don’t plan their path. Spending time outdoors can help you shed the armour of overthinking.

How to practise:

●      Go for a walk without an agenda—no phone, no step goals.

●      Tune into your senses: the crunch of leaves underfoot, the crispness of the air, the colours of the sky.

●      Sit on the grass and feel its texture beneath your palms.

Science confirms nature’s calming effect: exposure to green spaces lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, while boosting serotonin, the mood stabiliser. From a psychoanalytic lens, nature also offers a “holding environment” akin to a good caregiver—reliable, nurturing, and non-judgmental.

4. Embrace Non-Striving

One of the most liberating aspects of “just being” is letting go of the need to achieve or perform. Instead, you sit with whatever arises - thoughts, sensations, or even boredom, and let it be enough.

Try this mantra during quiet moments:

●      “There’s nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Just this.”

By reconnecting with this state, we reclaim a sense of completeness often overshadowed by adult demands.

5. Move Your Way to Stillness

For some, sitting still feels impossible. Movement-based practices like yoga, Tai Chi, or even mindful walking can offer a more accessible route to presence.

How to practise:

●      Choose slow, deliberate movements, syncing each with your breath.

●      Focus on the sensation of muscles stretching or feet meeting the ground.

●      Let the movement be an end in itself, not a means to “get somewhere.”

Gentle movement releases physical tension and brings awareness back to the body, bypassing the need for cognitive engagement.

6. Find Beauty in the Everyday

Presence isn’t confined to meditation cushions or scenic hikes. It’s in the mundane moments too.

●      Sip your tea slowly, noticing its warmth and flavour.

●      Wash dishes and feel the water’s texture and temperature.

●      Pause at a window and watch the world go by.

Psychoanalytically, these moments can be seen as “transitional spaces” - a bridge between external reality and inner experience, where creativity and peace thrive.

Why It Matters

Being present isn’t about erasing thoughts or achieving perfection. It’s about reclaiming your wholeness; the mind, body, and emotions working as one. By grounding yourself in the body, you learn to access a deeper, quieter wisdom that intellect alone can’t provide.

Recommended Imagery

●      A serene figure sitting cross-legged on a mossy forest floor, sunlight filtering through trees.

●      Close-ups of bare feet walking along a sandy beach, waves lapping at the toes.

●      Hands gently cupping a steaming mug of tea, surrounded by soft, natural light.

Closing Thought

The next time life feels overwhelming, pause. Feel your breath, touch the earth, listen to the wind. You don’t need to fix, change, or improve anything.

You’re already enough.

And that’s the beauty of just being.

Share this article with someone who could use a little more “being” in their life.