<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Piyush Bhatnagar | Author of When Attention Settles]]></title><description><![CDATA[Official website of author Piyush Bhatnagar, exploring attention, awareness, mindfulness, and reflective living through books, essays and poems.]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:09:59 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Humbling Journey]]></title><description><![CDATA[For a long time, my relationship with words was a very private one. When I first began writing the observations that would eventually become When Attention Settles, they were simply small notes to myself. I was genuinely hesitant to share these thoughts publicly. To now see the book reach #44 in Spiritual Meditations in the US Kindle Store feels deeply humbling. My only hope was that it might offer a quiet space for a few fellow travelers. Knowing that it is reaching people, resonating with...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/humbling-journey</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a06327d590248d168bcc72e</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 20:41:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_a48a37e4342a44cdb13022b8ac9a4861~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_720,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Leadership Stops Rushing]]></title><description><![CDATA[Recently, I shared a story about a former colleague, Jeff Schmidt, whose leadership was defined by a quiet anticipation - an ability to pay such close attention to the people around him that he knew what they needed before they even asked. During my years at Bell Labs, I worked under a director named Victor Lawrence, who showed me a different, but equally powerful, version of attention. Victor was a renowned scientist carrying the immense responsibilities of a massive organization. Yet, what...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/when-leadership-stops-rushing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f6e5c47b1c42fb24f73335</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 06:07:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_abf0139e1a4b4264b954fe320586adb2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Discovering Leadership Through Attention: Insights from My Journey]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Power of Attention in Leadership In the early days of building a technology startup, the pressure was constant, and funding felt uncertain. During this challenging time, I learned something profound about leadership. This lesson did not come from formal strategy or extensive experience. Instead, it emerged from quietly observing our CEO at the time, Jeff Schmidt. Jeff had a simple yet remarkable habit. He noticed what people needed before they even mentioned it. This ability to be present...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/the-quiet-power-of-attention-in-leadership</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e6b8628e63193b95d41b3e</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_73c9493e51e84c09a86f7452256bdc66~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_800,h_800,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Later Is a Safe Place. Until It Isn’t.]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is a quiet assumption many of us carry. There will be time later. Later feels responsible. It feels patient. It feels safe. I wrote a short reflection exploring what “later” quietly replaces in our lives, and why clarity about what matters often comes only when time begins to feel limited. If this feels familiar, you may find something here worth reflecting on. Read the full reflection at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/later-safe-place-until-isnt-piyush-bhatnagar-ga5me]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/later-is-a-safe-place-until-it-isn-t</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e6b7d3a96d49e56ec67db5</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_511b599d75e843fba4482df41efdb477~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_941,h_529,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Stopping and Resting Are Not the Same Thing]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most of us know how to stop. We finish our tasks, close our laptops, and sit down at the end of the day. But stopping is not the same thing as resting. Stopping happens when visible activity ends. Resting begins only when the quiet effort of managing experience starts to soften. If you have ever spent an entire evening doing "nothing," only to feel strangely tired afterward, it might not be because you did too much. It might simply be because your attention has not quite come to rest. I wrote...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/why-stopping-and-resting-are-not-the-same-thing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e6b6708e63193b95d41700</guid><pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:31:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_ff29a41047bc4f3cad0fceffb1c21a03~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_568,h_320,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Chasing Happiness Becomes Exhausting]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so. — John Stuart Mill If the realization that time is short often clarifies what truly matters, why do we spend so much effort trying to manage how life feels? The question quietly led me toward a subject that sits behind many of our decisions. Happiness. Not happiness as it actually appears in life, which is often brief, unannounced, and mildly inconvenient. I mean happiness as an idea. A goal. A quiet expectation that sits somewhere...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/why-chasing-happiness-becomes-exhausting</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b255b8ecfce39c49a8d2e7</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:00:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_94251d54a3bb49f2bb9ea9112e91a4a1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Parent Speaks]]></title><description><![CDATA[Here is a poem I wrote to express my thoughts and emotions as a parent of a trans kid. Everyone has a right to be who they want to be. Wish the world would become a more accepting place and let the kid be herself, and I hope I can empower her in a world and environment that sometimes can be toxic and hostile. I was taught that parents are meant to map the world, to draw its borders early, to say this is who you are and believe certainty is kindness. But my child taught me otherwise. She did...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/a-parent-speaks</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697ddfd445fce64fde1ba587</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2026 10:59:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_685d17b9151a44dd89750fc3fe6ab8a0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_541,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[You Are Rising]]></title><description><![CDATA[Yes, I see you even when you turn away When words fall short, then slip away There’s something deep behind your eyes A quiet strength you haven’t realized Some mornings feel farther than before Like you’re standing just outside a door Your voice arrives, but not your ease Your thoughts drift off so carefully Some days feel heavier than they seem Like you’re holding a half-remembered dream But underneath the weight you’re moving through Your heart still knows what’s true Be kind to yourself,...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/you-are-rising</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6960bf96bb643392cffa17fb</guid><category><![CDATA[Songs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:20:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_1eb5a3d7ca004849b8eaf08f92e92fdb~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Warmth]]></title><description><![CDATA[Expanded version of original Warmth  I wrote on Feb 19, 2022 Cold, dark, and dreary is everything I have whether outside or within The only warmth I need is you The wind hums through hollow places and silence knows my name Yet even in the emptiness Your light remains the same I count the hours by the dark by what I cannot say The cold settles into my bones and slowly learns to stay and when the years grow heavy and all the fires fade to blue I’ll rest beneath the quiet sky The only warmth I...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/warmth-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69674bb76ae8988b73f9907f</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 14 Jan 2026 07:56:23 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Private Sky]]></title><description><![CDATA[I walk alone not lonely, unbound, beneath a sky that belongs to me. In a world with its own weather, its own sky, its own direction. Each mind its own country borders unmarked, crossings imagined. In a universe with its own gravity of thought, where even the stars shimmer differently, and the constellations I see are unfamiliar to anyone else, known only to me. Under this sky there is only me, a private map of memory, where every joy has a past and every wound knows my name. This knowing...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/private-sky</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69636bb041b846e43e838317</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><category><![CDATA[Introspection]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:12:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_e51f1a68e37c403ba9e1f11f3f5a3fb5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_463,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Road Within]]></title><description><![CDATA[I crossed a thousand silent questions, knocked on doors that wouldn’t speak. Every promise pulled me forward, every answer felt incomplete. I asked the stars to show me meaning, asked the fire how to begin. I felt the shift beneath my breathing, and the road - it turned within. Not every answer needs a sound, some truths rise when I slow down. I don’t look far, I don’t look through, I let the moment pull me through. The destination’s not beyond - it’s been within me all along. No need to run,...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/the-road-within</link><guid isPermaLink="false">695c1a2bef35928416b067a6</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><category><![CDATA[Introspection]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:11:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_62554a36d74c446bbd3834a4d1158103~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The road is, where I belong]]></title><description><![CDATA[I woke to a stirring deep inside, a pulse, uncertain, yet alive. Life stood before me, not as a promise, but a road unfolding in morning light Mesmerized, I set out on a trip, started walking the winding road, I walked on, no map, no sign, just a small flame burning inside. The road was kind, the road was cruel, wandering wild, breaking each rule. It cut my feet, yet lit the sky, each fall taught me how to rise. And I walked on, I walked on, the road is, where I belong. There were moments of...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/the-road-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">695c0b0bef35928416b03f70</guid><category><![CDATA[Songs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:08:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_24255df58c124c58a8f4ba7bbb593ec5~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Travel plans go Awry]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Small Piece of Advice Before a Long Journey Most journeys don’t announce themselves as life lessons in advance. They look ordinary at the start - bags packed, airport ahead, a clear idea of when you’ll arrive. Before leaving India after my wedding way back in 1996, my dearest uncle, Akhilesh Mama ji, offered me one small piece of advice as I packed: always keep a fresh set of clothes in your carry-on. Nothing dramatic. No warning bells. Just something learned from experience. I didn’t...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/when-travel-plans-go-away</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6939551a9c4bc26e8037d45c</guid><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><category><![CDATA[musings]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:15:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_03a9083d445d450099c7df48308ee967~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Climb and Rise]]></title><description><![CDATA[Re-written as an uplifting song/anthem based on the original :"Mountain" written some time back. Released on Spotify on Dec 12, 2025 I fought and I grappled, with a mountain in sight, Pushed through the shadows, and stood up to the fight. But I didnt give up and told my self that The fight is not in vain so I must climb and I must rise I must climb and I must rise At times, it grew taller, that mountain ahead, Unyielding and daunting, my courage near dead. Something inside whispered to me...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/climb-and-rise</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb5a4dd35cb65e868eaaa</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><category><![CDATA[Introspection]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2025 22:55:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_7b08a393a67f414d88a6573c2a07bde0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Three]]></title><description><![CDATA[The greatest wonders come in three, A quiet code in you and me. A song that hums through all we know, The rise, the stay, the letting go. Birth, life, death—the circle’s spin, The journey out, the journey in. We bloom, we shine, we fade away, Yet something stays beyond the day. Past, present, future—time’s sweet thread, The words we’ve spoken, things unsaid. The past still whispers, soft and low, The future waits where dreams will go. Mind, body, soul—the heart of man, The holy three in one...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/three</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb7aba2bc92e0d90f2d92</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 19 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_3f3a9efb714c46b2b4330c96b172885f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[There's a Sting In My Heart]]></title><description><![CDATA[There’s a sting inside my heart a sharp ache — quiet, but breaks me apart No one sees it, no one knows, but I can feel it when it grows. So I smile to hide the storm, pretend I’m fine, pretend I’m warm, pretend the pain is far away — but it stays, it stays, it stays. How do I say that breathing burns? That every step — the world just turns a little heavier, a little slow, and walking feels like letting go? So I wear my calm like skin, tuck the trembling deep within, pretend my soul won’t fade...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/there-s-a-sting-in-my-heart</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb03cf5f6788e899b15ce</guid><category><![CDATA[Songs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Meloncholic]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 02 Oct 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_a21c4082f1394a798cc2a0b08cfc0473~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Without You]]></title><description><![CDATA[Until you came into my life, I was breathing, but not alive. I never knew what living meant, Till I found the love you sent. Now every breath reminds me so, This world feels heavy, hard to go— For living is impossible, Without you… without you. Without you in my arms I get lost, I need your warmth, Even smiles don’t hide the tears, Lonely through the crowd I steer. Every joy feels empty and small, Nothing feels like life at all— For living is impossible, Without you… without you. Every sunset...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/without-you</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb470a2bc92e0d90f25de</guid><category><![CDATA[Songs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2024 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_d151a30b31a845c58ab4fa65f806f257~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Mountain]]></title><description><![CDATA[I fought and I grappled, with a mountain in sight, Pushed through the shadows and stood up to the fight. At times, it grew taller, like a mountain ahead, Unyielding and daunting, my courage near dead. I pressed on regardless, but gained little ground, Till the truth dawned within, a new wisdom found: The mountain I climbed wasn't carved out of stone— It rose from my fears and doubts I had grown. Any mountain can crumble, when the heart finds its might, And from the ashes I rose, to reach new...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/the-mountain</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb52a4885233fabd58eb9</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><category><![CDATA[Introspection]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 31 Dec 2023 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_7b08a393a67f414d88a6573c2a07bde0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Letting Go (Song)]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is the song version of my poem "Letting Go " . Just a humble attempt to add a melody and voice to the emotions.  I held you tight, my little one, Just wasn’t ready to let you go. Too afraid you’d face the storms alone — the wind, the cold, and the unknown. But most of all, I feared this cruel world. Would it let you be? Would it let you fly? Would it let you grow? I was afraid— Would it let you find your happiness, See your beauty I’ve always known? Will you fly beyond your fears, Find...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/letting-go-song</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb6b44885233fabd59249</guid><category><![CDATA[Songs]]></category><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 02 Apr 2023 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_42459082dd694167bf7d4620c5581fad~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Letting Go]]></title><description><![CDATA[As parents, we go through a wide range of emotions as we watch our little ones grow. It’s never easy to see them struggle or try to make sense of a world that can feel so big and complicated. There are moments when all we want to do is step in, protect them, clear every obstacle from their path, and take on their challenges for them. But then there are those beautiful moments — the ones where they rise, push through, and surprise even themselves. Watching them soar makes every worry, every...]]></description><link>https://www.piyushbhatnagar.com/post/letting-go</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691bb652b8e90ba7de365c8d</guid><category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category><category><![CDATA[Uplifting]]></category><category><![CDATA[English]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2023 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a952de_42459082dd694167bf7d4620c5581fad~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Zyphyr</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>