The Art of Stillness

My post is inspired by Pico Iyer’s The Art of Stillness. You can watch his Ted Talk on the subject here.

The Art of Stillness

What does that even mean?
I have no time for it.
I’ve got goals to accomplish.
Deadlines to meet.
Places to go.
People to network with.
It’s a luxury I can’t afford.

Take time to be quiet?
Where’s the time for that.
Besides, it makes me uncomfortable.
It sets me off on the road to authenticity.
And do I really want to go there?
It’s something that make me uncomfortable.

And yet…
Maybe,
This all I really need:
To be still. Be quiet.
Look deep within myself.
Make peace with who I am.
Shed light on those dark places within.
Allow truth to emerge.
Grieve for what I’ve lost.
Be grateful for what I’ve gained.
Remind myself of lessons learned.
And make room to grow.

I will be still.
For a few minutes.
Every day.

Let me cultivate the art of stillness.

Inspirational Quotes

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing. – T.S. Eliot

If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with. – Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

Not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize. – Pico Iyer, The Virtue of Stillness

Once I knew only darkness and stillness… my life was without past or future… but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. – Helen Keller

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. – Deepak Chopra

Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance. – Morgan Freeman

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When everything is moving and shifting, the only way to counteract chaos is stillness. When things feel extraordinary, strive for ordinary. When the surface is wavy, dive deeper for quieter waters. – Kristin Armstrong

Many writers who choose to be active in the world lose not virtue but time, and that stillness without which literature cannot be made. – Gore Vidal

Nearly everybody I know does something to try to remove herself to clear her head and to have enough time and space to think… All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world. – Pico Iyer

Image Credits: Photo by Nandhu Kumar from Pexels