Be Still

“Be Still”

                To be still is an important but sometimes elusive goal.  We are all so busy with work and family that sometimes the opportunity to be still, is lost.  Yesterday was Memorial Day.  Without any discussion my family seemed to know this was to be a day devoted to being still. No one turned on a T.V. Instead there was reading, reflection, crafting, quiet conversation, listening to the birds call from the woods, watching chipmunks scurry across the yard, rabbits nibbling the grass and watering of the garden. 

Time was spent engaging with the critters that share our home. A lot of petting, ear scratching, and treats were involved.  The primary enclosures of our bunnies were cleaned. The cats watched wild animals out the windows and found sunny spaces for laying by the screen doors for naps.  No one engaged in rough play.  They too seemed to sense the need for quiet.  

Each human member of our household engaged in our chosen art form.  Our daughter, Emma, who has temporarily returned home, edited photographs. My husband, David, created cards of congratulations for each of his piano students who recently performed in a concert over Zoom.  I, Lyne, wove a scarf and designed a new colorway for spinning batts.

 As I look back, being still included much activity.  But all that was done took place in an attitude of stillness. To be still, we do not always have to cease activity. Sometimes, being still is more about letting go of the demands on our lives, being attentive to only what we are involved in and what surrounds us, embracing all that is and simply being in the moment without allowing distractions to call us away.

As a result of yesterday’s opportunity to be still, I am refreshed and ready to return to work, ready to return to legitimate demands on my life (with awareness of what is and is not legitimate) ready to welcome everything. 

I hope that you can create the opportunity to be still in your own life. Take a day each week, or a time each day, to let go of all that calls to you.  Experience time away in stillness and then bring that stillness back into everything you do. You will find yourself being unburdened and renewed. 

You deserve a time to be still!

Peace,

Lyne