On my drive home last night I listened to a very informative podcast (putting into practice one of my Slower Pace principles of dual use-ing time — to be discussed later in another post). This was a podcast by Michael Hyatt on stillness. He was promoting the practice of stillness — the act of just being still. Not praying, not contemplating, not meditating — just being still.
I know what you are thinking — because I was thinking the some of the same things.
- I don’t have time for that.
- That is not productive.
- I can’t find a location or time of day where I won’t be interrupted.
- I can’t sit still for more than a few minutes.
But as Michael continued promoting the practice, also admitting he was still a beginner, I was taken back to some times where I had unintentionally engaged in the art of stillness, interestingly most often on vacation. I can remember a time last October sitting on the beach just mesmerized by the waves, the salt air, and the sound of the surf. Another time was at a local camp sitting by the pond, tossing in pebbles, and watching the ripples enlarge outward. Surely you can imagine a time or two when you engaged in the same act of stillness.
Unfortunately for most of us, it is not frequent enough for us to #1) get good at it and #2) realize its full potential.
Over the next week, I want to challenge each of you to engage in the act of stillness for 10 minutes a day. I will do the same and loop back in a blog post. It is my hope that it can be used as another tool in our Slower Pace toolbox.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
P.S. – here is the link to Michael Hyatt’s blogpost and podcast — http://michaelhyatt.com/098-how-to-regain-interior-margin-through-the-practice-of-stillness-podcast.html
