Be Still

I am normally always finding something that needs to get done, errands, bills, laundry, phone calls, or any other multitude of things. When I do have free time, I maximize it by having as much fun as I can. I go out with friends, explore hobbies, or find other entertaining things to do. I want to live life to its fullest. Occasionally though, and more recently, I've noticed myself enjoying silence and slowing down. I don't know if this comes with age, or it is something else. I turn the TV off, unplug from my social media and handheld devices, and I sit in silence. Sometimes I sit in silence driving to work, sometimes I lay in silence on my couch, staring up at the wall, or I move about the house in silence. Doing this slows me way down. When I slow down and sit in those silent spaces I allow myself time to process events, and experiences that I have not fully processed in the prior days, weeks, or possibly even months. Sometimes, by doing so, I have more clarity around certain issues in my life and greater understanding on how I should move forward in an area I may have felt stuck.

Other times when I sit in silence I do very little thinking and processing. I simply enjoy the moment. When I catch myself thinking a thought, I notice it, without judgment, and then I let it go. I pay attention to the noises around me, the air conditioner turning off and cycling back on, the way my tongue feels inside my mouth, my in and out breath, I notice the way my clothes feel against my skin. And when another thought floats in, I once again notice the thought, without judgment, and it floats away. I return back to the empty space. These are small moments.  These small moments are what I call presence. I feel peace. Presence is alive and there is a soft warm feeling in those spaces, some call that presence stillness, or a dropping of the ego. I call that presence God. This balancing invisible space that I momentarily feel is something I would like to increase in my life. I have learned that by slowing down, I balance the opposite force within me to speed up and move forward.

We live in a world that encourages productivity, output, accomplishing, moving ahead, and climbing up the ladder. We stay busy on our cell phones, busy in our careers, busy raising our kids, busy entertaining ourselves and others. By moving so fast, many of us are constantly reacting to the next thing that happens to us instead of slowing down and getting still. We believe that by being in constant motion we are exerting our will into the world and saying, "I am here. I exist." This is all ego. We need ego to gets things done in the world, it can sometimes serve as a protecting force for us as well. It serves a purpose. However, being still also serves a purpose. Most of us don't make time to slow down, even if for a moment. We keep moving, keep charging ahead, keep reacting to the next thing.  This constant need to be in motion likely contributes to impulse control issues. And a lack of impulse control leads us to react without thinking things through, later regretting decisions we have made. By being still we find we are more likely to make decisions that serve us and others rather than harm us and others. We become steady and grounded, and we are able to surrender things beyond our control. We become more flexible, and have an increased ability to go with the flow. 

One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is, "Be still, and know that I am God." I see the wisdom behind this scripture. By being still, even if momentarily, we have a chance of getting in touch with a higher state of consciousness, one that ultimately serves our higher good.

To learn more about enjoying the moment as it is check out Psychologist Robert Hammel's blog on mindful living at https://roberthammel.com/wheres-damn-bus-waiting-bus-mindfully/.