Returning to Center

Crafted with Open AI’s DALL·E 3

The Art of Returning to Yourself

There is a pivotal scene in The Greatest Game Ever Played — a film exploring the intersection of sport, class, and inner composure — where one of the protagonists, Harry Vardon, exemplifies a state of profound presence.

Surrounded by spectators and the weight of legacy, he stands on the green, visibly dissolving the distractions around him. Not through external action, but through an internal shift. His gaze narrows, his breath becomes steady, and in that moment, the world falls away. It is just him and the hole. Nothing more. No legacy to carry, no audience to please — just presence.

This essay explores the concept of returning to that place — what some might call center. Others might name it presence, flow, composure, regulation, or groundedness. While terminology may vary across disciplines (psychology, performance science, spirituality, or neuroscience), the core phenomenon remains recognizable.

It is not merely the absence of anxiety or thought; it is the felt experience of inner alignment. Like the internal exhale of a well-earned moment of peace. Like walking through fresh snow at dawn. Like hearing a song you didn’t know you missed.

What we refer to as "center" is often misunderstood as a peak state or an elusive ideal. But perhaps it’s not something we need to find so much as something we must return to. Not an innovation, but a remembering. Not outside ourselves, but within — and always available, however obscured.