It was an ordinary afternoon (March 28, 2025). I was getting ready for a work call—just another busy day. At 1:25 p.m. Thailand time, I suddenly felt dizzy. Thinking I might be tired, I stepped into another room, but the sensation returned—this time, much stronger. The floor beneath me was swaying. I couldn’t balance. I screamed. My husband and I both looked at each other with the same fear—what was happening?
We were on the 9th floor of a 30-story building when the earthquake struck. The walls cracked, the building groaned, and in those terrifying seconds, everything froze. My children were at school. My phone’s battery was low. I grabbed my purse and phone, and we ran to the emergency stairwell.
Once outside, we saw people standing silently, watching for aftershocks. That calm in chaos stayed with me. We stood on the road for hours, not knowing what to do next, unsure if it was truly over. And yet, in that uncertainty, something shifted inside me.
As someone responsible for safety and sustainability in my organization, my instinct was to reach out, check on my colleagues, and make sure they were safe. But before I did that, I had to find stillness in myself. I had to absorb what had just happened.
The earthquake was a terrifying reminder that life can change in a second. All our plans, meetings, and deadlines suddenly felt meaningless. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was life—breathing, being, and being with loved ones.
We often spend our days stressing about the future. Deadlines, career paths, savings, expectations—we carry it all, assuming we have time. But we forget that life is happening now. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Now.
That day reminded me to live in the moment. To truly live. To feel the sun on my face, to listen when someone speaks, to laugh without thinking of the clock, to pause and just be.
It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of life, but when the ground beneath your feet shakes—literally or emotionally—it makes you realize that the present is all we ever have. And it’s enough.
Let’s not wait for a disaster to remind us of what matters. Let’s live with presence, with gratitude, and with love—today.
Because life is not in the planning, it’s in the living.
Sucheta's blog 
Share your thoughts here!