Learn to be Still
40"x32"
Oil on canvas
2011
Oil on canvas
2011
Learn To Be Still (written 2006)
So, I was driving down the road the other Saturday and I passed by a speed limit sign, read it, and kept going. About thirty seconds later down the road I saw a cop, checked my speed, and put my foot on the break. Now, why do you suppose that is? Why is it that seeing the sign didn't trigger me to reduce my speed but seeing the police officer did? You are probably thinking, "Well, the sign won't give you a speeding ticket." And that is right in a sense. The sign is a reminder but the officer is the enforce, and that got me thinking about my driving. Five days a week, I drive 25 minutes to work. Along that way I'm not sure that I know the speed limit along all of those roads, but I do know how fast I travel on them to get to work on time. But any time I see a police officer along that route I take quick notice of my speed.
We are in such a rush and getting to work is only part of it. We rush through our entire lives. When we are five, we want to be ten. When we graduate from college, we rush to get a job. Some of us rush from dating into marriage and then from being married to being parents. And the list expands and expounds on and on. Thinking of all of this reminded me of a song by the Eagles called "Learn to Be Still." One thing the songs speaks on is how we keep telling ourselves that once we reach a point in our lives we will be satisfied, happy, and complete. But we seldom are. Aren't we? The joy of that new car lasts until it gets a ding, until the payments wear on us, or someone else gets a newer car. That new job is great but what does it do for me aside from keep me busy for forty hours of my week?
Learn to be still means slow down. No, not just slow down. Come to a stop. Stop right where you are. Don't think about what you can do tomorrow to make you happier or to make your life more fulfilling. Just stop. Look around you at what you have right now. Take an inventory of the blessings that you have. Isn't that enough to be happy about? For me, learn to be still means realizing that you are happy right now with you, what you are, what you are blessed with, and where you are. Isn't that enough? Tomorrow, you can worry about what will make you happy then. Today has enough for you to concern yourself with and to involve yourself in without trying to find happiness in the uncertainties of a tomorrow. And while you've stopped, stop thinking too. Silence the voices in your head. Silence the questions. Silence the doubts. Silence the "Am I good enoughs?" I know it is hard to not think. If thinking were exercise I would be an olympic athelete. I run every possible scenario through my head until I am exhausted. Mentally exhausted. Are you like that? Does it give you comfort? All of that thinking? Sometimes yes but more often than not it just adds more questions. Just stop. If you have to think of something, think about breathing. Just focus on breathing slowly. Something as simple as breathing can occupy you enough to slow yourself down.
That cop didn't pull me over, but he got me to slow down and not just on the road. What am I rushing for? Why do I rush to places? Is it that big of a deal getting to the mall one minute earlier? Is my day really that full? Is just slowing down and taking in the scenery, smelling a proverbial rose going to take away from my day? The answer is no. Slow down a little or even stop.
Learn to be still. Learn to be happy with yourself. Learn to be happy where you are, or if you aren't happy work towards it. Learn to take life a step at a time. Life doesn't have to come at you a day at a time. Take it a moment at a time. It is the little things in life that make living so grand. Enjoy that cup of coffee that you spent four dollars on. Taste the food you eat at lunch. Absorb even the briefest moments that you have with someone special to you. Really smile. Enjoy your time with friends and family but also find time to just be with yourself. It is the little things in life that we rush through thinking it will give us more time for the big things but it doesn't always work out that way. Some times if anything it actually takes away from those big things. Take your time. There will be a tomorrow. And if there isn't, wouldn't you have rather truly enjoyed every moment of this day? We get so caught up in our future that we overlook the here and now. Life has a way of taking its time and we should too. Patience... Contentment... Satifaction... Joy.... May you find all of these as you learn to be still.
We are in such a rush and getting to work is only part of it. We rush through our entire lives. When we are five, we want to be ten. When we graduate from college, we rush to get a job. Some of us rush from dating into marriage and then from being married to being parents. And the list expands and expounds on and on. Thinking of all of this reminded me of a song by the Eagles called "Learn to Be Still." One thing the songs speaks on is how we keep telling ourselves that once we reach a point in our lives we will be satisfied, happy, and complete. But we seldom are. Aren't we? The joy of that new car lasts until it gets a ding, until the payments wear on us, or someone else gets a newer car. That new job is great but what does it do for me aside from keep me busy for forty hours of my week?
Learn to be still means slow down. No, not just slow down. Come to a stop. Stop right where you are. Don't think about what you can do tomorrow to make you happier or to make your life more fulfilling. Just stop. Look around you at what you have right now. Take an inventory of the blessings that you have. Isn't that enough to be happy about? For me, learn to be still means realizing that you are happy right now with you, what you are, what you are blessed with, and where you are. Isn't that enough? Tomorrow, you can worry about what will make you happy then. Today has enough for you to concern yourself with and to involve yourself in without trying to find happiness in the uncertainties of a tomorrow. And while you've stopped, stop thinking too. Silence the voices in your head. Silence the questions. Silence the doubts. Silence the "Am I good enoughs?" I know it is hard to not think. If thinking were exercise I would be an olympic athelete. I run every possible scenario through my head until I am exhausted. Mentally exhausted. Are you like that? Does it give you comfort? All of that thinking? Sometimes yes but more often than not it just adds more questions. Just stop. If you have to think of something, think about breathing. Just focus on breathing slowly. Something as simple as breathing can occupy you enough to slow yourself down.
That cop didn't pull me over, but he got me to slow down and not just on the road. What am I rushing for? Why do I rush to places? Is it that big of a deal getting to the mall one minute earlier? Is my day really that full? Is just slowing down and taking in the scenery, smelling a proverbial rose going to take away from my day? The answer is no. Slow down a little or even stop.
Learn to be still. Learn to be happy with yourself. Learn to be happy where you are, or if you aren't happy work towards it. Learn to take life a step at a time. Life doesn't have to come at you a day at a time. Take it a moment at a time. It is the little things in life that make living so grand. Enjoy that cup of coffee that you spent four dollars on. Taste the food you eat at lunch. Absorb even the briefest moments that you have with someone special to you. Really smile. Enjoy your time with friends and family but also find time to just be with yourself. It is the little things in life that we rush through thinking it will give us more time for the big things but it doesn't always work out that way. Some times if anything it actually takes away from those big things. Take your time. There will be a tomorrow. And if there isn't, wouldn't you have rather truly enjoyed every moment of this day? We get so caught up in our future that we overlook the here and now. Life has a way of taking its time and we should too. Patience... Contentment... Satifaction... Joy.... May you find all of these as you learn to be still.