June 30, 2025 By D. Paul Graham

Ever curious and always amused by the quirks of life, join D. Paul Graham each Monday for more M5T pondering.

**“Press Here”, Kensington, London photo by D. Paul Graham**

We’ve all stood at crossroads in our lives. Not the poetic kind you read about in books, but a very real, very uncomfortable place between what was, what is, and what might be. The safe option is almost always to stay where you are. To coast. To keep doing what you knew how to do. But something quiet yet persistent inside you, keeps urging you to press. Not to press harder in the way we’re so often told. Not hustle. Not grind. But to press deeper. Into the fear. Into the unknown. Into the uncomfortable space where growth lives, and comfort dies. I remember many late nights, and thankfully still have them, that are filled with doubt, conversations I didn’t want to have, and a soul that felt raw from the stretching. But I also remember those exact moments when I realized I hadn’t broken. I had increased. I learned that pressing isn’t about force. It’s about faith. It’s not about speed. It’s about surrendering to something bigger and choosing to move anyway. If you’re in that spot right now, this morning’s Monday 5 Things serves as a reminder that pressing isn’t what we do when the pressure is on. It’s what we choose to do when something greater is calling.

1. PRESS PAUSE. Because the world won’t do it for you. Because your soul isn’t designed for constant motion. We live in a world that rewards urgency. Everyone's racing somewhere. To the next call, the next post, the next milestone. But pressing pause? That’s a quiet transformation. Pause to feel the sunlight on your face. To sit with a thought long enough for it to become insight. Pause not because you’re behind, but because you’re awake. Pause to look a stranger in the eyes. Pause to taste your coffee, not just consume it. Pause not as a delay, but as attentiveness to the present. It’s in the pause that time stretches, breath returns, and something sacred speaks, not loudly, but clearly. It is in the pause that you meet your truest self, and perhaps to hear something divine.

2. PRESS PLAY. Because waiting is often a polite form of fear. There’s something magical about pressing play. It’s more than starting. It’s believing. Believing that your voice matters. That the story in your heart deserves ink. That the business idea in your head deserves daylight. Pressing play is a holy little risk, the kind the soul was built to take. Whether it’s a piano gathering dust or a life half-lived, press play like it’s your soundtrack. Then play your soundtrack of your life.

3. PRESS IN. Because some treasures aren’t on the surface. Pressing in requires courage of the kind that says, “I’ll stay a little longer. I’ll listen more deeply. I’ll love even when it’s hard and I don’t really want to.” It means pressing into grief when you’d rather numb it. Into faith when it's easier to doubt. Into people who are prickly and imperfect. Like pressing a thumb into clay, you shape something more human, more beautiful. If, you’re willing to press in to stay close and present.

4. PRESS ON. Because the journey isn’t always paved in gold. Life will hand you detours, delays, and days that feel like soggy shoes. And still, we press on. Pressing on doesn’t mean forging ahead with brute strength. Sometimes it means picking yourself up and simply standing up again. Putting one foot in front of the other, even when the road is unclear. The truth is that resilience is less about never falling and more about rising with grace, again and again. Press on like your story matters and that you will make it matter.

5. PRESS YOUR LUCK. Because a life without wonder is far too safe. Pressing your luck isn’t about gambling. It’s about wonder. Curiosity. A sacred kind of boldness. Press your luck by asking the question in the meeting no one else dares to ask. By applying for the thing, you feel unqualified for. By saying yes when fear says stay put. Life has a funny way of opening doors for the ones who knock with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in their soul.

Here's to a week of pressing not just for outcome, but for depth, with purpose, grace, and love.

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Paul continues to be a shoe-worn wanderer and a full-time presser of meaning. Please share this with someone you think would like to step-up their Mondays. Thank you!

You can reach Paul by email at dpg@imagegraham.com

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“Monday 5 Things” ….. Pressed …..

Monday 5 Things ….. Chiaroscuro: Let the Shadows Speak …..