Appreciating The Act Of Existence

Knowing how be in quiet solitude

How often do we find ourselves sitting in silence, not doing anything in particular, but just being and existing, in quiet solitude?

I find often in today’s busy world, there is little opportunity for silence, let alone giving ourselves what we may deem to be the luxury of simply, and gently being. The reality is, in the constantly “on” world, there are few moments to be “off.” In fact, a bustling, hurrying, grinding nature, has become inextricably interwoven with our sense of success, value, and happiness.

When I ask friends when the last time was that they hovered in a state of simply being, often times they up come empty. One will offer when they went for a run, another when they sat down to read their book, or most often - the few moments before they fell asleep. But while all of these moments serve their own use, that use is one other than being.

Photo by Katerina Kerdi on Unsplash

I have noticed that we don’t like silence and sitting still a whole lot - we find it everything from eerie to wasteful. But the fact of the matter is movement breeds movement - meaning that the more external movement and noise there is, the more internal noise it can create - judgement, scorn, desire, envy. The more noise, the less opportunity there is to sit with one’s emotions and thoughts. We often don’t want to sit in silence, because we think we’ll be bored, restless or think we’ll be more productive elsewhere.

But boredom is not an impatience with true stillness, it is a fatigue of the obligation to always be moving and productive.

True stillness can be incredibly enlightening if we allow it to be. A moment to exist between thoughts, and ease the knot of tension, stress or obligation that may wrap around your heart. Stillness does not have to be an exercise which has obligation or pressure attached - in fact for me, it’s an opportunity to extract yourself from the expectations that our daily tasks hold over us. If thoughts come up, memories, or desires, it’s an opportunity to examine them with loving-kindness and curiosity, rather than allowing them to have a hold over us.

True stillness is an engagement with your consciousness, a recognition of the presence that exists beneath our perceptions, emotions, and fears. I’ve found that for me, connection with this part of myself, generally through meditation, means that when I reengage with the world, I am much more grounded, at peace and able to approach even things that may provoke me, with loving-kindness.

True stillness does not have to come only through meditation, there are many avenues to true stillness. Maybe it is through journaling, a gentle stroll or a coffee alone in a bustling cafe. What really matters is not the external situation, it is the ability to connect within. An exercise of kind self-monitoring and observance.

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This talk by Matthieu Ricard inspired the last couple of paragraphs on touching your bare consciousness - highly recommend giving it a watch.

I’d love to know - how do you find true stillness in your day?

Until next time x