All this stillness, I mean. Have your feet fallen asleep?
I knew starting out that Stillness wasn't going to be The Hot Topic of the century. I mean, there are over six hundred bloggers participating in the 31 Days Project this October! And I'll be honest: 31 Days to a No-Brainer Wardrobe sounds infinitely more fun than this Stillness stuff.
Stillness is a challenge. For those prone to navel-gazing like me, it comes a little bit easier. I love having the excuse to sit still and think really hard about where and why I am. But I do have a fair number of friends who are busy busy people. They are people who structure their entire days - entire lives - around work, sports, activities, playdates, coffee dates, you name it.
I so envy their energy levels, their focus, their drive. At heart, a navel-gazer like me is a teensy bit lazy, and likes to explain that away with a lot of talk about introspection, self-knowledge, and um, creativity. I am pretty much at peace with who I am, and say this with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
The world needs all sorts, y'know?
But here's where I have the inside track, and why I kinda like my Thinker/Watcher self: Stillness arrives more quickly for me, these days. If a silent sort of meditative quality can scream its name on occasion, I am the person who can hear the hollering.
I find myself noticing it in the middle of a preschool hayride, and I point out to my small girl the spectacle of 20 ducks in formation, black checkmarks in the clear autumn sky. I am tempted to stop my car in the middle of a two-lane road, just because the lineup of a red barn against autumn trees says to me Stillness Lives Here. I notice the square of sunlight in the middle of my living room couch, and I am instantly grateful for the invitation and keenly aware of its temporary state. I lie down immediately, and seize the rare chance for a nap.
All of you Activity People out there, it's ok. I get you. I understand that Stillness feels as foreign to you as Tantric Yoga or ... pffft. I don't know - needlepoint? But it doesn't mean you get a free pass. Stillness is there for you too.
Just for a minute, today, just for maybe two minutes even, allow yourself to think about Stillness. Allow yourself to consider the people who live with Still. Is there anything there you recognize? Anything there you envy for your own existence?
I'm betting that all of us wish there was more Still in our lives.
2 comments:
I hear ya. I feel like my topic is as boring as watching paint dry.
But you should know that I love your series and have savored every word.
And, ha, we both are introspective and fabulously dressed - so we can go on with our thinking selves and let everyone else figure out their wardrobes without us :)
One of my favorite things is to lie on my bed and think. And it doesn't happen unless I consciously carve out the time. When I'm in stillness it's the only time I come up with my own material. The rest of the time I walk around repeating what everybody else has said or written.
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