Pearls of Presence

How Brief Interludes of Extraordinary Awareness Become Our Most Treasured Stories

Your life is composed—orchestrated with 90-second moments of magic. These virtuous details comprise the richness that awakens stories and gives them color, depth, and meaning. The most profound narratives unfold not in grand sweeping arcs, but in fleeting interludes of extraordinary presence.

A Seed

It was 9:33 pm.

A tap on my right shoulder.

I turned my head in the loud, crowded room, music blaring, people eating from small plates, moving their bodies to the rhythm that pulsed through the space.

"What was your favorite 90-second moment from this week?"

He was one of the first people I'd met walking into the hall just a few days prior. His question caught me off guard.

"90 seconds? Why 90 seconds?"

"Our life is made up of 90-second moments. So, what was yours?"

Memories from the previous days scrolled through my awareness like a lotto machine until it slowly made its way... to a stop.

"It was a tiny moment. One that happened today. A mirror really... A share that shook validity and clarity into the essence of my being."

"Sitting on the beanbag chair, sharing presence with a dear friend. A moment they shared how they witnessed me. I felt so... seen... grateful... proud... of myself for a deeper landing with who I was."

Smiling. Breathing. Grounding. Expanding. Listening. Witnessing.

A Bud

Great stories dance. They emanate rhythm—playing with pace and depth. You can feel a great story coursing through you when it's shared. This isn't hypothetical; it's simple neuroscience.

Research from Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained and published neuroscientist, revealed that the physical component of emotions lasts approximately 90 seconds before being prolonged by thoughts. The chemical cascade that constitutes our emotional responses—a symphony of hormones and neurotransmitters—washes through our bodies in this brief window.

When you recall your most vivid memories, they're rarely days or hours, but rather brief, intense flashes—that unexpected phone call delivering news that altered your path, an exchange of eye contact across a room that made you feel truly seen, or an epiphany while reading a single line in a book that reframed your entire perspective.

These short sparks can resonate for years, decades even, as they mark turning points or glimpses of truth, beauty, or connection that forever alter your inner landscape.

What makes these moments so "magical" is our level of presence. In those 90 seconds, we're fully there—undistracted by the past or future, experiencing a sharp clarity of being alive that cuts through the noise. This sense of presence isn't merely pleasant; it can feel transformative.

A perennial challenge in storytelling is selecting the scenes that matter most. Pinpointing a brief, powerful exchange or event brings emotional weight and authenticity to narrative. Stories with strong "magic moments" draw us in because we recognize those turning points in our own lives. We subconsciously know what it feels like to experience something that changes us in less than two minutes. By framing these short bursts in narrative, storytellers help audiences connect with the characters' inner worlds in ways that transcend the page or screen.

A Sprout

So, how can we live our own stories with awareness?

Many of us are "too busy" rushing through the web of life, grasping at the next turn, shaken by the fear of missing out. This busyness, this lack of presence, creates a sense of rush—a continuous forward momentum that often leaves us forgetting to savor or even notice these fleeting points in time.

How can you, even right now, connect with your senses?
What's present in your visual and auditory field?
What textures press against your skin?
What subtle emotions ripple beneath your conscious thoughts?

When you reflect on your day…
What felt unusually real or poignant?
Which moments pierced through the veil of routine?

A simple habit of noticing and embracing these moments can lead to a richer inner life and a more compelling way of sharing who you are with others.

Perhaps our lives are not measured in years or even days, but in these concentrated moments of aliveness—90-second jewels strung together across time. And perhaps the art of living well is learning to recognize them as they happen, to inhabit them fully, and to carry their resonance forward into how we meet each new moment.

In the grand symphony of your existence, these brief measures may be where the most beautiful music plays.

Listen closely.

With gratitude,
Rachel

---

Emergence with Rachel Weissman comprises weekly essays on human potential for regenerative progress — interlacing art & design, ecology, futurism, human potential, mystical wisdom, and technology.

If you find this writing valuable, leave a heart ❤️, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already.