Meeting Distraction with Gentleness

The Daily Meditation with Brother Richard · Feb 24, 2026 · 10m

In this meditation, I draw on the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales, often known as the gentle master, to explore a kinder way of meeting distraction.

He taught that noticing distraction is already enough, and that meditation is not measured by success or failure, but by the willingness to return. When anxiety is present, he encouraged longer sitting, not as effort, but as care.

As we practice, emotions are noticed without judgement and attention is brought back, again and again, to the breath. Perspective softens. What once felt like interruption becomes part of the practice itself.

This daily…