Quiet Clarity is a 2x/week newsletter and podcast for people who want to build a life of presence, depth, and deliberate intention.

The things you think matter won't, and the things you take for granted will be everything.

What if losing your phone for four days could show you who you really are?

My dad and I just completed a meditation retreat with no phones, books, or entertainment.

I kept reaching for my pocket, only to remember—nothing there.

No emails to check. No content to create. No distractions to hide behind.

Just four days of being uncomfortably present with myself.

By Day 2, something unexpected happened: I stopped being in my mind.

For the first time in years, nothing pulled my attention away from the moment.

The retreat was a random decision—my dad found it, I thought it'd be good bonding time.

Day 1 hit hard: What am I doing here? How many opportunities am I missing?

I realized my phone and laptop weren't just tools—I thought they were parts of me.

But as presence kicked in, those layers started falling away.

In that stillness, I began seeing through all the armor we build:

These become our identity, our protection from vulnerability.

But when you're fully present, they stop mattering.

You start seeing people for who they really are—just humans, like you.

When did I start believing I was my achievements instead of just... me?

Being around people double and triple my age revealed patterns I couldn't ignore.

Every single one shared the same realization about what they thought mattered versus what actually did.

Things they thought mattered but didn't:

Things they took for granted that became everything:

A man who'd lost his parents told me: "I worried about promotions while they were alive. Now I'd trade every achievement for more time with them."

The pattern was undeniable: everything you're chasing will end, but everything you're ignoring will matter most.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying success or youth or parties.

But attachment to them creates suffering.

Because one day, the parties won't feel the same.

Your youth will fade.

You'll realize validation doesn't make you feel better.

The retreat elders weren't telling me to give up ambition.

They were warning me not to sacrifice presence for promises.

What if nothing needed to change for me to be happy right now?

Think about your happiest moments—maybe as a kid at an amusement park or during college orientation.

Were you analyzing yourself? Thinking about what came next?

No. You were just there.

The joy wasn't in the activity—it was in the presence.

I've learned that pain is inevitable, but suffering only happens based on how we respond.

You don't have to love your job, but if you're fully immersed, you'll do it better and suffer less.

You don't have to love every situation, but resisting makes it worse.

Ed Mylett calls it "blissful dissatisfaction"—being present while still working toward more.

Most people believe they'll be happy once things improve:

But presence taught me something different.

The trees don't rush to grow.

Rivers don't force their direction.

Everything unfolds effortlessly in the present—only we resist.

When you're truly present, something shifts:

The real challenge isn't being present at a retreat.

It's staying present when emails pile up, when pressure mounts, when life gets messy.

But this isn't something you need to learn—you lived this way as a kid.

You just need to peel back the layers to feel it again.

Because when everything falls away—your phone, your identity, your armor—what's left is just you. And that's exactly who you've been looking for.