One of my Christmas gifts is The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere, by Pico Iyer.
From the back cover:
“At some point, all the horizontal trips in the world stop compensating for the need to go deep, into somewhere challenging and unexpected; movement makes most sense when grounded in stillness.
In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing could feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.”
This is why I meditate. The Art of Stillness clarifies for me the importance of meditation, of silence, of depth. And it has me thinking about Christmas.
The depth of Christmas is not in the food, or in the presents. It’s in generosity, in beauty, in singing together, in donations, in quiet moments enjoying the Christmas tree, in time together, with friends and family. And deeper still, it’s in silence. That’s where depth lives – in silence.
We get lost, I think, in busyness, and lose the silence. But that’s where joy lives. This can be a time to take time, to take a moment to breathe, instead of running faster and faster, shopping and wrapping and cooking all day so we can overeat and then shop again for days and spend January decluttering and losing weight.
Imagine if we didn’t, if this darkest time of winter was a time to rest, to breathe, a time for silence and depth. I’m going to give it a try.
Maureen
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