Awakening With Don Blog | Recovery, Mindfulness & PresenceI need the blog meta description again

The Most Important Mile

October 18, 2025 No Comments

Last weekend, Emily and I were in Chicago — and it just happened to be marathon weekend. Watching the runners brought back a flood of memories from my own eight Chicago Marathons. What stood out most wasn’t race day, but the training — the quiet, consistent miles that no one sees. Those “treadmill days” taught me that the real work happens long before the finish line.

On one of those long solo runs years ago, something clicked: the most important mile isn’t the one ahead or behind — it’s the one I’m in. It’s the only mile I can enjoy, and the only one I can do anything about. That truth has carried me through recovery and through life — a reminder to stay present in the mile I’m living right now.

Finding Peace in the Pause

October 12, 2025 No Comments

There was a time when I lived almost entirely in reaction—scrambling to fix, manage, and control life. Today, I’m learning that peace begins in the pause: those few mindful breaths between what happens and how we respond.

Don’t Pigeonhole Yourself

October 5, 2025 No Comments

I once thought a good life meant having the right answers. Over time I began to feel the dissonance between what I said and what I truly believed. It took me years to name it—and even longer to give myself permission to question without guilt. In this reflection, I share how honest conversations, including six episodes with my son on his podcast Finding My Religion, helped me trace the journey and land on Buddhist principles that now guide me toward presence, steadiness, and compassion.

From Apollo Dreams to Recovery Journeys

September 28, 2025 No Comments

A lot of life has happened between that wide-eyed boy and the man I am today. Decades filled with joy, love, mistakes, regrets, and ultimately recovery. Sitting in that gallery, looking at the preserved consoles of Mission Control while the Apollo 11 landing data scrolled across the screens, I realized something important: the sense of wonder and possibility that once fueled a boy’s space dreams is the same spirit that now sustains me in recovery.

Letting Go of the Old Me: The Freedom in Surrender | Awakening With Don

September 21, 2025 2 Comments

For most of my life, I held tightly to old identities — pastor, perfectionist, the one who had it all together. Letting go of those versions of myself wasn’t weakness; it was freedom. In this reflection, I explore the paradox of surrender and the unexpected liberation that comes when we release who we thought we had to be.

The Circle Is Never Closed

September 14, 2025 No Comments

The Enso, a sacred symbol in Zen Buddhism, embodies the beauty of imperfection and the journey of life. It teaches us that wholeness is not found in perfection, but in presence. My path to recovery has been anything but linear, filled with setbacks and lessons. Embracing the idea that life is about beginning again each day has transformed my perspective. Through meditation and the simplicity of the Enso, I’ve learned to let go of control and fully experience the present moment. Discover how this open circle can inspire you to live with honesty, vulnerability, and peace.

Staying Steady in Someone Else’s Storm

September 7, 2025 No Comments

Golf will test your patience — not just with your own swing, but with the actions of others. Just like life, people will sometimes “hit into us” — push too hard, disrupt our peace, or act in ways we think they shouldn’t. We can’t stop that from happening. What we can do is decide whether to feed the anger or to step aside and play our own game with presence.