Cultivating Stillness
We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see. Taoist proverb.
In the journey of life, being conscious of who we are, living with purpose and joy can only happen when we are aware.
Driven by technology and many other distractions, doing instead being, we can easily lose sight of ourselves, of what and who is truly important. Many fall into the trap of busily making a living instead of making a life. Sound familiar?
If it does, you will want to read Pico Iyer’s wonderful new book, The Art of Stillness. He’s one of one of my favourite contemporary writers.
In it, he reflects upon the reasons many of us seem desperate to unplug. Drawing on his own views and the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, Marcel Proust, Leonard and Emily Dickinson, he reveals how stillness can “quicken creativity, and restore clarity and sanity.”
The need to find time to occasionally step off the wheel, slow down and just catch our breath is a good thing. When you have a few minutes, have a look at his book.
You’ll get it.
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