Be Still

“All of humanity’s problems stem from a person’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” -Blaise Pascal

“I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.” -Mahatma Gandhi

“Be still and know that I am God.” -Psalm 46:10

“Stillness is what aims the archer’s arrow. It inspires new ideas. It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections. It slows the ball down so that we might hit it. It generates a vision, helps us resist the passions of the mob, makes space for gratitude and wonder.” -Ryan Holiday, book Stillness Is The Key

“Do you have the patience to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
Till the right action arises by itself?” -Lao tzu, Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation)

If you’re trying to be still and meditate and you just can’t because your monkey mind is running all over the place and you have all these anxious and sometimes angry thoughts like “why am I here?”, “this is stupid”, “I’m getting nothing out of this?”, “what am I gonna eat for dinner?”, “why did that person say that to me?” “I wanna do something else with my life”, “what should I do with my life?”, “what is my purpose?”, “this is stupid”, “I don’t have time for this,” “who sits like this and just does nothing?”, “I suck at meditating”, “this isn’t for me”…and you just wanna get up and be done with it…

…That’s good. That’s really good.

It means you’re doing it. You’re in the right spot.

Keep doing it.

Thank your thoughts and keep being still

The clarity you seek will come.

Trust.

Be still.