What is a Good Life? #134
The Beauty Of The Ordinary with Mike Moss
Exploring Presence - A workshop in Berlin
This September, I’m co-hosting an in-person workshop in Berlin with Johnnie Moore, where we’ll dive into the theme of presence through a range of experiences and conversations.
Click here to learn more — early bird tickets are available until August 15th.
This Week’s Podcast
On the 134th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Mike Moss. Mike is a BACP registered Counsellor and Supervisor. He has worked in voluntary and statutory organisations for over 40 years and is currently employed as a counsellor in a school. His approach is Person-Centred with an interest in the Transpersonal. He has written widely about the power of the therapeutic relationship and presented his work at workshops and national and international conferences. He has a small private practice offering counselling, supervision and training.
In this conversation, we explore profound themes of life, connection, and the beauty of the ordinary. We discuss the significance of the breath before the last breath, the power of a smile, and the importance of being present. Mike shares his journey of self-discovery, emphasising the potential within each individual and the interconnectedness of life.
The dialogue highlights the struggle we all face and the beauty found in acknowledging our experiences.
The weekly clip from the podcast (2 mins), my weekly reflection (3 mins), the full podcast (60 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip From The Podcast
2. My Weekly Reflection
There is a beautiful metaphor that Mike shares in this interview about our worries.
He imagines that if every worry he’s ever had were to take the form of a stone, he would now look back and see a vast mountain behind him—a mountain made of all the fears, anxieties, and doubts that once felt overwhelming.
But they are no longer here. And whenever he meets a new worry, he’s aware of this context: that he is no longer carrying all those past stones.
He can hardly remember any of them—perhaps just the present one—so he meets this new worry with that awareness.
It’s not about avoiding the present experience. It’s about not becoming so fused with the worry that we amplify our suffering.
This is very much in line with that Buddhist sentiment: this too shall pass.
When he’s working with clients, he describes the power of knowing this. Again, it’s not about taking away someone’s sadness or struggle, or his being with that experience.
His embodying of this understanding seems to help. He need not speak a word of it—but it changes how he simply sits with them and listens. And it’s felt by the other.
The more of these interviews I conduct, and the more I pay attention to relationships in my life and work, the more I see that presence is something we significantly undervalue.
We prioritise the words or theories we feel we need to share in the moment—even though we all know how frustrating or out of touch it can feel to receive a philosophical insight when we’re deep in worry.
And yet, your simple, grounded presence can offer a kind of relief that no words could.
I sense that everything I know is contained within it. Whether it’s mental, spiritual, or physical knowing—everything I’ve learned and lived contributes to how I show up in this very moment.
And when you have faith in your presence, very little needs to be said.
In fact, the futility of words and advice in someone else’s moment of struggle can make it feel like a performance—offering sentiments that don’t serve or reach the person in front of us.
I suspect that in our culture, where we try to hack or shortcut everything, we’ve come to believe that presence is something we can turn on like a tap.
While certain rituals or grounding practices can help, I believe it is more a reflection of our way of life than a switch we flick.
When people sense that coherence between how you currently show up and how you live, words become secondary. We can trust that presence is doing the work.
All that breadth of perspective is there, too.
It’s what gives us permission to loosen situations when the time is right—maybe even crack a joke when others are reciting their sympathies.
I suspect our tendency to underestimate our presence stems from how little worth we attribute to simply existing. We feel we must do something to prove our value.
But in terms of what truly serves one another, I see it as the inverse of how we currently perceive it.
In a very loud world, we are missing the quiet power of witnessing and presence.
Thanks for reading What is a Good Life?
3. Full Episode - The Beauty Of The Ordinary with Mike Moss - What is a Good Life? #134
4. This Week’s Questions
Can you recall a seemingly small gesture by someone that had a profound effect on your life path?
How much do you step back and consider the bigger picture when dealing with immediate difficulties?
About Me
I am a coach, podcast host, and writer, based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I started this project in 2021, for which I’ve now interviewed nearly 300 people. I’m not looking to prescribe universal answers, more that the guests’ lines of inquiry, musings, experiences, and curiosities spark your own inquiry into what the question means to you. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience and more meaningful conversations.
If you’re interested in exploring your own self-inquiry through one-on-one coaching, my 5-week group courses, or fostering greater trust, communication, and connection within your leadership teams, feel free to contact me via email or LinkedIn.