Stillness Is the Key

By ourselves, we are a fraction of what we can be. By ourselves, something is missing, and, worse, we feel that in our bones.

To pray and work in the morning and to labor and rest in the afternoon, and to sit still again in meditation in the evening when night falls upon that land and when the silence fills itself with darkness and with stars. This is a true and special vocation. There are few who are willing to belong completely to such silence, to let it soak into their

. Think about what’s important to you. . . . Think about what’s actually going on. . . . Think about what might be hidden from view. . . . Think about what the rest of the chessboard looks like. . . . Think about what the meaning of life really is. The

Yet how many of us collect and acquire as if the metric tonnage of our possessions is a comment on our worth as individuals?

the realization that we are all one, that we are all in this together, and that this fact is the only thing that truly matters.

A body that is overworked or abused is not only actually not still, it creates turbulence that ripples through the rest of our lives. A mind that is overtaxed and ill-treated is susceptible to vice and corruption. A spoiled, lazy existence is the manifestation of spiritual emptiness. We can be active, we can be on the move, and still be still. Inde

We should get walking.

Where am I standing in my own way? What’s the smallest step I can take toward a big thing today? Why am I so worked up about this? What blessings can I count right now? Why do I care so much about impressing people? What is the harder choice I’m avoiding? Do I rule

Each of us needs to get better at saying no.

Give more. Give what you didn’t get. Love more. Drop the old story.