It's 6am. The sun is beginning to peek over the mountain as we walk. The world is waking up.

"Can we meditate together?"

"Yes."

I lead us slowly down the stairs from the trail to the end of the dock and we both take a seat overlooking the lake. Birds fly overhead. We close our eyes, inhaling and exhaling the fresh, crisp morning air. We practice present-moment awareness in each breath.

It is both a reminder and a practice. Long after the meditation ends, we will be confronted again and again with opportunities and choices. In each moment, we have the choice to react or respond. As Victor Frankl said, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."