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| A river guide sits quietly above the Colorado in the Grand Canyon |
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” ~Winnie the PoohI posted the link to a reported essay on my Facebook and Twitter page today about the idea that stillness is something the younger generations behind us will know better than we do now.
I don't doubt it. I agree with one of Pico Iyer's (the author) early suppositions: "The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug." I've often felt this need to disconnect, and rarely do I feel guilty when I do. It's why I'm learning to be okay that I have not blogged every day during this journal writing/meditation/blogging exercise. Blogging daily isn't really necessary to get the full benefit. It's extra. I'm also okay if I miss one of the other parts in the exercise. It is what it is.
And it's possible I just might need time to process what I've been learning about myself, because this exercise has led me to some thoughts that have been somewhat painful and true. That's the challenge when you go quiet. When you take time to process, to ponder, to find stillness, that time may also lead to you to what is making you feel the opposite.
Not a comfortable place to be, mentally, but I think it's necessary.
That's why I don't think it's a coincidence that we've also been discussing this and working on this--stillness--in yoga. It's clearly something I'm being drawn toward and clearly something I need.
I even came up with a pitch I'd like to write for a magazine I just discovered. The topic: boulder sitting. The point: finding stillness.
Yes, I would have to agree with Iyer who wrote also in this piece about why he takes time away from his family to stay at a Hermitage not far from his home..."I just take walks," he writes, "and read and lose myself in the stillness...it’s only by stepping briefly away from my wife and bosses and friends that I’ll have anything useful to bring to them."
If you agree with this idea that stillness is essential, where do you plan to find yours in 2012?
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4 comments:
I so agree, Silence is a necessary part of my day. When I don;t take that time, no distractions or plug-ins, I get much less done. So even on my busy days, I make times for quiet.
Be still. Sit. Stay a while. (Directives from my soul!)
Plus, I like the quote. It reminds me that I don't have to know everything, do everything, be everything right now. I have time to think about it, to feel good about the steps I am taking. It's a big sigh of relief to be reminded of that, don't you think, Bo?
I so believe this- and the Psalmist David wrote, "Be still and know that I'm God" I have found when I'm rushing around physically or in my brain- I often forget that God is in control...but when I still myself...quiet myself...my mind...my everything...then I know that HE is God and HE is in control!!!
oh thank you for this post- I certainly needed this reminder tonight!!!!!!
Anjuli, that's an even better reason to find the stillness. I picked up Dr. Andrew Weil's new book, Spontaneous Happiness, last night--and he talks about quieting the mind as well. Clearly, this is something we all need to make time for in our lives.
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