River of Stones: day 29
“One’s actions ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be mere rushing on.”
~D.H. Lawrence
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Stillness in a frenetic world overpopulated with devices to measure movement and progress is contrary, bordering on subversive. Like an acupuncture needle tapped into a meridian, the turbulence surrounding stillness causes a powerful disturbance. I have witness Chi flow so forcefully through a meridian as to actually bend a needle, as if it is trying to expel the offending stillpoint whose only goal is to restore the true path and flow of energy though a body. Stillness and calm amidst the clanging and banging of the modern world is a true challenge, but without it…without practiced intention to be still and calm….the world tumbles farther and farther astray. Every effort and action made to correct and return to the right path further distances and diverts us. I find that I cannot DO anything to get myself re-centered. While I may feel off course, know I turned the wrong way and persist in my refusal to stop for rest or fuel……I have no choice but to PAUSE to find my way again. If I am too stubborn or proud to be still, I only make matters worse. I find that when I get so far afield from where my True path lies, I get an external correction. Like a slap upside the head, a brick through the windshield, a punch in the stomach, a collapsed bridge or fallen tree…..I am FORCED to a screeching halt. The obstacles are not meant to be scaled or toppled, there is no lever or chainsaw capable of moving them or clearing the path. And by default, I must reassess. In trying to solve the problem that is without human explanation, I hear the questions I was unable to ask or hear when moving at top speeds. Where was I trying to go? Why did I want to go there? Can I really get there from here? Is there an easier way? But in stillness there is an ability to hear and listen to what velocity had blotted out.
This month of writing all my small stones, I was consciously aware of needing to write SMALL. Think small. Find that stillness by choice and not by force. Stillness does not demand submission through humiliation. Stillness by choice and intention lifts up a soul, strengthens conviction and restores faith in one’s passions and goals. This was a delightful method to practice for the last month as a foundation for the year and the future.