The Peace Found in Stillness
Who can be still while the mud settles?
Who can remain quiet until the moment of action?
The contemplative life is not poverty of spirit
but the wealth of an unhurried mind —
find the infinite in a square of sunlight,
the eternal in a single breath.
We humans are, by nature, emotional beings. We think we operate on logic. We think we are rational. In reality we bounce from emotion to emotion. We all experience frustration, agitation and even anger. We all experience feelings of insecurity and insufficiency. We return to our quiet center in stillness.
How much room do you make for stillness, for quiet time – no cell phone, no computer, no TV — in your life? If you made more room for quiet, would your mind become clearer, your life more purposeful and centered?
How would you like to see your life evolve from here? Would more time in stillness help you live that life you envision for yourself?
Stillness in Taoist Practice
In the Tao Te Ching, stillness is not merely an absence of activity but a profound state of being, a return to one's quiet center. It is the foundation for clarity, insight, and harmonious action, allowing the mud of daily life to settle and true nature to emerge.
What would it mean to carry that stillness into the pages of a journal?