“Unanxious presence.” The term is said to have come first from Edwin Friedman, a rabbi and therapist. I recall it being described as an important part of leadership (It is highly questionable that I fulfilled this requirement when I had such a role). It doesn’t mean apathy or ignorance of reality—just as courage is not an absence of fear, but a choice made in the face of it.
And so, “unanxious” rather than “calm” — I see it as implicit acknowledgement of things that are certainly anxiety-inducing. It is understandable if we feel perpetually on a precipice. Steven Wright said of that feeling when you tilt a chair back but you don’t quite fall back: “I feel like that all the time.”
Being unanxious is not numbness, denial or indifference, but a choice of response.
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Unanxious Presence (2026) —instrumental
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/oO_rbbeGIN4?si=khdqvsoopfv9pBnZ
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6F334hMEYTbthzWjgo0C7T?si=X-eoDhFZT-mWX7tniL5-AA&utm_source=copy-link
Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/unanxious-presence-2026/6807193450?i=6807193452