I used to think that 'being present' meant feeling good all the time, like some blissed-out guru. Now I know it just means feeling everything. The body doesn't lie about presence. I can think I'm present, tell myself I'm present, but if my shoulders are tight up around my ears, I'm just lying to myself. It's about feeling the discomfort, the itch, the grief, right in the bones, and still staying put.