This Is What Stillness Looks Like (and, Where to Find It)

Are you looking for…

Peace?
Calm?
Clarity?
Purpose?
Energy?

If so, then this message is for you. And I have good news: 

Whatever it is that you truly seek, it is available right here, right now.

Skip directly to the guided meditation

I was reminded of that when I went for a run on a trail at a nearby lake last week. I think I ran for 7 minutes and walked for 38. But that counts. I ran. And then I stopped… and saw this:

What you can’t see in that picture is that the wind was really picking up, hence the choppy waves that were moving under the bridge I was standing on.

That’s not an especially remarkable picture, though. The real reason I took it is because as I stood there on the bridge watching the waves, I remembered taking a picture in almost the same spot just a few weeks ago—and it looked very different:

Pretty dramatic difference, isn’t it?

On that day, it wasn’t the waves that caught my attention, but the reflections. Look at everything reflected in perfect detail—the trees, the clouds… Beautiful. I love nature.

But, it made me think: Why were there no reflections in the more recent picture? It’s the same lake. Same trees. Very similar sky. What made the difference?

(I won’t ask you a question you don’t know the answer to!)

The difference is simple and obvious:

One day was still, and one day was not.

And that’s when it hit me—ohhhh… It’s the same in life, isn’t it?

I’m in the midst of making some pretty dramatic shifts right now (you too?) and in some moments, I can see the path forward as clearly as the reflection in the second picture. I feel peace, joy, excitement, confidence.

In other moments, though, thoughts are rushing through my head as quickly as those waves in the top picture. I feel anxious, afraid, uncertain, doubtful.

Same me. Same outer circumstances. Same possibilities.

What’s the difference?

Stillness.

Those thoughts in your head can move as quickly as the waves on the water, can’t they? Or quicker. We’re talking Class V rapids.

And there’s no denying that the world around us is moving pretty fast, too. It’s estimated that up until 1900, human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By 1945, it was doubling every 25 years, and by the early 80s, it was doubling every 12-13 months. Now, it’s estimated that human knowledge will double every 12-13 hours!

Serenity now!

Funny, as I was preparing to write this letter to you today, my son came into the kitchen and asked Alexa to play a song that captures the speed of our world quite perfectly. It’s called… “Gotta Go Fast” 🤪

It’s a song from Sonic the Hedgehog, and here are some of the lyrics:

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go
Gotta go fast, gotta go fast
Gotta go faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!
Movin’ at speed of sound
Quickest hedgehog around
Got ourselves a situation
Stuck in a new location
Without any explanation
No time for relaxation!

Sound familiar?

And then we wonder why we’re looking for peace… calm… clarity… purpose… energy?

I told you that whatever you seek is available right here in this moment, though. So here’s the good news:

While in nature, you’re at the mercy of how the wind blows in terms of whether you experience stillness or not, in life, when you notice things—including thoughts—are moving too fast, you have the power to choose and create stillness.

When I feel the anxiety creeping up, I realize, I’m letting my thoughts run away with me. That’s my cue to slow down. To breathe. To return to my heart. To be still. And soon, I’m seeing clearly again. All is well. And I can return to the world “out there” feeling different “in here.”

So, which picture above captures how you’ve been feeling lately? Are you feeling the peace and calm and clarity of the bottom picture? Or, are you feeling the choppy waves of the top picture?

If you’d like more peace and calm and clarity, I’ve got a gift for you. I just recorded a new guided meditation titled “Feeling Your Body and Mind as a Lake” that’s designed to take you to the stillness of the lake, without leaving your seat—unless you want to lie down. Give yourself the gift of 7 minutes—you know you’d give it to someone else who asked for it, right?—and watch/listen right here on YouTube:

It’s not easy finding stillness in our world today, but it is possible. You have the power. Remember that.

Thank you for being here today.

If you’d like messages like this to show up in your inbox each week, click above or below to get your copy of my ebook, Unstoppable, and I’ll send you my weekly Heart to Heart email with a nugget or inspiration and/or practical advice to rise above the challenges of the day.

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