Change and Stillness
Comparing, referencing, memories from the past informing expectations for the future. I relate to my world through measuring change.
Sometimes there is no change. As if time stops. What arises? Often, boredom. An existential anxiety habituated to change, addicted to movement. Sometimes, relief, a grace. Two sides to our perception.
I am built for my relationship to this world, my relationship to you, all that I perceive as right, all that I perceive as wrong, always changing. I am built equally for stillness. More, better, faster, always on, gets us nowhere. A habit.
Stopping once in a while to see what arises—anxiety OR stillness—may not get us anywhere either. But it is good for the brain, our health, compassion for fickle perceptions. Coming from stillness makes us ultimately more effective. For when we intentionally seek to create change for the better.
(... As if it didn’t matter
which way was home;
as if he didn’t know
he loved the earth so much
he wanted to stay forever. ~ Stanley Kunitz)
This is a pragmatic whispering into the anxious, loving heart. A paradox.
For me, then, to stop on a morning walk, see, breathe. Trust in silence, beauty. Listening, nothing in me held back. Ease AND positive impact. What does it mean for you?
credit: tim marshall | unsplash
For the full poem by Stanley Kunitz, click here.
