Doing Less To Be A Better Version Of Ourselves

Blog

June 25, 2021

Mindful Stillness As Action

Multitasking is overrated. So why is hitting the off switch on multitasking ever a challenge? The disrespect. People plan getaways to silence the outside world and entire spiritual disciplines are dedicated to the daunting task of quieting the mind. For some reason, allowing ourselves time and space to eliminate the outward or inward expectation to do more than one thing at a time takes purposeful action. Some might even call it, Intention. 

The world can be a loud place for many of us making our way in it or making a better way for the ones coming up behind us and beside us. Finding stillness in the noise can seem like an unattainable reward. Remember when people used to say, “I’ll rest when I’m dead?” Well, what’s a clever way to say, “I’m afraid what will die if I stop?”Life is for living and there are just so many sweet moments in the stillness. What if the answers to all of your heart’s questions are waiting for you in the pause? I once lived on the 24th floor of a high rise next to the freeway. At first the traffic sounded like noise, but over time it became comforting, like the sound of ocean waves. The familiar hum of constant movement can feel safe and beautiful.

I also remember the discomfort of my first night sleeping away from the constant noise. It was just me and my thoughts, alone in the room and I couldn’t rest. I couldn’t wait to get home. Multitasking, like traffic, can feel necessary. But we must ask ourselves, is enduring really worth it or is it just something we’ve convinced ourselves sounds like the ocean. The only way to be sure is to be still. What would we plot next if we came down from that metaphorical 24th floor next to the freeway and sat with the silence? 

What if taking our minds and behinds to a quiet place is the Oh, Shit action?  What if we stop doing so much and trust the people around us to lead in their own way so we can find ours? What if we surrendered to whatever comes up there and thanked it for revealing itself so we can move forward? What if our personal and collective liberation lies in doing less and being more of the version of ourselves we find in the quiet? 

Goodbye, default settings. Higher Intention levels await!