On Thursday, I was at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. A bucket list moment for my husband and me.

One of the things that makes the Masters so unique, so sacred, is that no phones are allowed. It’s the ultimate gift from the tournament to its patrons. It is a rare invitation to be fully present in a world cluttered with distraction and hurry.

No notifications. No photos. No texts. Just you, the course, the players, and the moment.

And as soon as I arrived, I could feel the difference. Time slowed. My breath deepened. I could hear the breeze, feel the sun, and notice the energy of people simply being.

At one point, my husband ran something back to the car while I waited in the crowd. Even with thousands of people around me, it felt calm. The sky was that perfect, clear blue. The air was warm and sweet. A soft breeze passed through the Georgia pines.

I was sitting quietly, taking it all in. And then I heard it.

“Hey, Lex.”

My husband’s voice was clear as day.

I immediately turned around. And there he was, ten feet away, walking toward me. But he hadn’t said anything out loud.

He smiled. I smiled. And in that moment, I knew something special had happened.

I didn’t hear him because I was trying to. I heard him because I was available enough to receive it.

This moment reminded me of what I’ve been learning. When we slow down enough to feel, to be still, we begin to remember what we’ve always known.

This knowing lives in all of us. But we bury it beneath the noise. We override it with a great sense of constant urgency. We forget how to listen until something finally quiets us down enough to hear.

And in business? That kind of connection changes everything.

We move from task to task, meeting to meeting, inbox to inbox, pushing against the resistance even when everything in us is asking for a pause. But what if the insights we need, the decisions, the direction, the clarity, do not live out there in the noise?

What if they exist in the stillness? In the quiet of the moment? In the pause?

Presence sharpens our intuition. It strengthens our leadership. It deepens our relationships and makes space for better ideas.

The most effective leaders I’ve worked with have one thing in common. They listen deeply. They create space for clarity. They know that power isn’t found in urgency. It’s found in presence.

Stillness is where truth rises. And flow begins. Just like it did for me in the hush of the Georgia pines.

This reflection is part of my Becoming Light platform. It is a space where I explore what it means to lead, live, and work with lightness and presence, guided by joy and intention. These insights are drawn from my own journey, which I share more deeply in Becoming Light: The Journey to Slow, Grow, Flow...Glow, my forthcoming book.

I’m proud to bring this approach to my work at Five to Flow, where we help organizations cure the dis-ease of dysfunction by aligning the Five Core Elements™ of People, Culture, Process, Technology, and Analytics to reinvent the workplace experience and create a more fulfilling, sustainable future.