The Art Of Being Still.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
*2-second pause*
Breathe in. Breathe out.
*2-second pause*
Breathe in. Breath out.
A lot has been going on in 2020 so far. You can feel that the energy on this planet is different this time around. From the coronavirus pandemic to racial injustices to people displaying their true characters in person and online, the days of today are a lot to take in.
Not only are we trying to deal with everything going on surrounding us, we also have to deal with our personal struggles and challenges, such as ensuring there is food on the table, clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads, bills being paid, taking care of our children and family, and much much more.
We move at 100 miles-per-hour each and everyday with our day-to-days, along with constantly trying to keep up with everything in the news and the digital world. It seems that our bodies and minds can never seem to stop and pause.
But in the midst of the chaos, the peace of stillness is something that I appreciate each day.
The definition of still is defined as “deep silence and calm.” I have to admit that its one thing to say that you can be still, but it actually takes commitment and affirmation to do it.
Since last fall, I really started to take my mental health seriously in way of finding ways of managing my challenges. In a sense, one thing that I’ve come to learn with talking with someone was that I realized I seemed to always think too far ahead of life and had not taken time to truly live and be in the present…a way of mindfulness, if you will. Many thoughts have crossed my mind into the ways of the what ifs, the doubts, and the uncertainty, but I had not taken time to be still in the moment. Still in a sense of being truly aware of my surroundings, both spiritually and physically. After really understanding the sense of the urge of running towards the future, I had to really slow down from mentally running to jogging to walking to sitting and truly understand the importance of being still.
Ya see, mindful meditation has become a way for me to craft the art of being still. Mindfulness is defined as “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something; a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.” I had to (re)learn to accept the way things are in my life. The awareness of being able to identify my five senses during my mediation period: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Granted, I’ve started with simply allotting 10-minutes of uninterrupted time to mindfully meditate each day…but months later, I feel like I’ve become more aware of what’s around me in the days of today. Even with all the unimaginative things consecutively going on, the art of being still has allowed me to (re)appreciate where I’ve been to where I am currently. The art of being still has allowed me to appreciate my small wins just as much as my big wins. It has allowed me to appreciate all of the challenges in my life that I’ve faced and surely what I will continue to face each and everyday.
I say this all to say that with everything going on in the 24 hours that pass each day, take some time to craft your art of being still. Whether its 1-minute, 5-minutes, 10-minutes, 1-hour, etc., its important to not only accept your thoughts and state of mind, but to also ensure that you are doing more than simply existing and going beyond that in the gift of living.
We are all a work in progress, but if there’s anything I’ve (re)learned from the art of being still is that we must enjoy the journey of life, as the destination will come when we are ready.
-Tru1P
