CARVING OUT TIME TO BE STILL

 

 

If you decided to get the Covid-19 vaccine, or not, ready, or not, the world is reopening. Airports are bustling, vacations and weddings are scheduled and many have resumed their pre-pandemic lives. Places to go, people to see, goals to be accomplished (including losing the Covid-19 eating your feelings pounds) are all on the to-do list. But what about time for a very important and unquantifiable aspiration:stillness?

 

During this past year I have valued more than ever my time sitting on the back porch listening. Except for the occasional reminder of movement’s reality, like a noisy truck rambling down the road, I am undistracted. In my stillness I hear the variety of bird songs and chirps, I delight in the trickle of water flowing from my backyard fountain and I admire the plentiful greenery and flowers in my garden. Even the dogs barking or neighbors chatting on the sidewalk are welcome reminders of life moving along that without stillness I might have hurried past.

 

Although I have started my own ascension back into community life, I am consciously carving out time to be still. In the stillness I listen to my inner voice. My musings are often filled with creative projects and ideas that would not come to the fore if I was in physical motion. Sitting in stillness allows the creativity within to present itself.

 

Your inner creative voice can be heard best in stillness. It is like the shy, deep-thinking child that is overwhelmed by the boisterous, noisy one; you need to pull it aside and quietly listen. Carving out time to be still, every day, is a great step forward in living your best, creative life.