On Stillness

Skagit Valley

“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.”
— T. S. Eliot, “East Coker,” Four Quartets

Simply Sitting

Our cat Jellybean sitting on the window sill

“Sitting is a most practical approach to simplifying our lives.”
     — Marietta McCarty, How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas that Matter Most

I have to work hard at simply sitting in stillness.  I do think that the Zen Buddhist practice of zazen, or “just sitting,” is a good way to become more grounded and centered.  It’s a challenge to just watch your breath, in and out.  Too often I am living in my mind, not my body.  So simply sitting is something for me to work on.