“When I dance, I dance, when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk in a beautiful orchard , if my thoughts drift too far off matters for some part of the time, for some other part I led them back again to the walk, the orchard, the sweetness of this solitude, to myself.”
~ Montaigne
How often do you invite stillness into your life?
Here I am, finally at home at my little farm, tucked up safely in bed, waiting to feel better. And as I wait, I am reacquainting myself with stillness.
I am finding it hard to read. My mind wanders and I lose the thread of each string of words and have to start over again.
The glare of the computer tires my eyes.
I have no concentration for games. Conversation’s a bother. I might be awake but my brain may or may not engage.
Frustration. Fatigue. Overwhelm. At times, panic.
For days, as I’ve been in the city, I’ve struggled with feelings of uselessness.
But now I am home. Yesterday I spent most of my time gazing out the window. But instead of uselessness a sense of stillness came over me.
Here, just at my window, bloomed a pretty bush…
All around me life went on. My heart was beating. Breath filled my chest. I was not my pain. I was not my thoughts. I was not my body. I noted the texture of the sheets and covers, the grain of the old hand-cut cedar walls of my bedroom, the softness of the pillows and mattress. Nature at my doorstep. I kept on breathing. My heart kept beating.
My mind emptied out its chatter and slowly I left my head and emerged into the world. Free of thoughts, the images around me running through my mind like water but not catching hold, I found the deepest peace.
No agenda. No to-do list. No project to work on. No thinking at all.
It reminded me of some of my most profound meditations, and I had done nothing at all except surrender to the moment.
There’s a lot to be said for inviting moments of stillness into your life. Stillness expands time. Stillness restores and nourishes. Stillness lets you sit in your Soul, instead of in your head.
It’s easier than you think. Take a moment, find a quiet corner of the world, sit down and breathe, and just let the world carry on around you. Be aware, but not involved. Let your mind relax and let go. Breathe. Relax. Be.
Wishing you stillness today, and peace in your heart. Bless ♥ xx
When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.
Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form. ~ Eckhart Tolle
