The Power of Stillness
The Power of Stillness
You’re back in the full swing of fall. The agenda is full of activities; hopefully, both work and play. To keep all those balls in the air, you’ll need to find your balance between doing and being.
I’ve learned about this balance through poetry. My days at the poetry workshops I attend annually are full-on and intense. We only have five days together and much to cover, but our poetry mentor/teacher Kim Rosen frequently interrupts all the doing to interject stillness. She says, “Oh we have so much to do here, so let’s start with doing nothing.” This is good modelling for life.
Stillness supports grounding, gaining perspective, and nurturing a sense of spaciousness. Stillness can look like a meditation practice, or it can take a simpler form of stepping away from your phone screen and feeling your feet on the ground, a few moments of stretching and breathing, allowing your eyes to take in the broader scene beyond the screen. A slow, quiet walk around the block with the intention to open your senses to the sights, sounds and smells you find en route will do the trick as well.
We’re all so much better attuned and more comfortable with the doing part of life. Making space for just being is radical. It goes against the grain. It can feel threatening to just stop as it seems like nothing is happening. Our doing supposedly keeps everything together. Stopping is risky and can bring you to your edge – but that’s exciting!
“Being space” activates forces within you that the state of “over doing” pushes away. In emptiness, we tap into creativity, peace, clarity and re-alignment with our centre. Stillness allows for broader perspectives to emerge and helps your “doing” activities become more effective, more satisfying.
So here’s the challenge: The busier your days become, the more you’ll need breaks for stillness. What would the right rhythm of doing and stillness look like for you? What are the easiest ways to bring some “being space” into your life? Do you need a prompt – a periodic beep from your phone, or an image on your office wall to remind you to step away? Perhaps build in a buddy system to help ground your commitment for spaciousness.
Give yourself the gift of stillness and watch your life blossom. Let me know how it goes.
Next entry: When sh*t happens, we need pleasure more than ever!
Previous entry: Workshop attendee
“Use of music was brilliant”; The poetry, the stories, the disclosure, the openness, the willingness and the laughter”