Such a great essay Wendy! I love the quote: ''I felt in need of a great pilgrimage, so I sat still...'' My favorite pilgrimage is to go in the garden and just sit. Sit, listen, look and sometimes just close my eyes and be. Walking barefoot to get to the lounge chair is part of it for me. Feeling the earth beneath my feet (it is a bit cold right now though!) makes me feel grounded! I've meditated on and off for over 45 years, and I love the peacefulness of just sitting and breathing. Often I've felt that it wasn't ok to just sit, but I realize that it is the best thing to do at times.
Thanks Wendy for reminding me that it is something worth doing....still.
That quotation has stuck with me since I first saw it. It was a revelation. Kabir was a wise one. Your garden pilgrimages sound sacred. And I know that it’s hard to carve out time when there is always something pulling at us (the to do list that never ends!). But rest and quiet is just as important as any of those other things. Essential. Thank you for being here, Jeannine. I appreciate you very much. ❤️
I love this. I work to accomplish what I want to each day and my rule is to stop at 4 pm and rest. I’ll try the pause of stillness! Thanks for the inspiration!
This. Yea this. It’s one of the reasons I started going on silent retreat While also recognizing just yesterday I watched the flicker of my lit Mary candle and was transfixed for I don’t know how long. That’s good for me 🥰💜
Yes—exactly. Fire, water. Anything that mesmerizes us. When I stop, I remember that I CAN stop, and THAT makes me feel like there’s enough. Some of my favorite lines from any poem: To see a world in a grain of sand/And a heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/And eternity in an hour.
My favorite too. Listen to album Eternity’s Sunrise by Bill Douglas. First song is Heaven is a Wildflower using this poem. The music slows down the poem and gives it further meaning as a meditation in noticing.
I'm smitten with that card, both the message and the art, and want something like it to hang in my house, perhaps at the bathroom mirror, or near my work space.
I can easily spend an hour "doing nothing" when I'm lying awake in bed wishing I was asleep. But that's not the same.I might be like Joel. If I'm outside, though, I'll have the option of being endlessly occupied by what I see an hear around me. Does that count? I'll try this sometime soon. Thank you, Wendy!
Her work is so great. I love her art and the choice of quotations. I bought a bunch of cards that day—I still have them and draw inspiration from them. Her work is on Etsy. Her company is Sacred Bee.
And you bring up a really interesting point. Is it doing nothing if you’re occupied, paying attention? No wonder I prefer doing it outside. But I’m thinking yes. Because we can’t turn off all of our senses, so of course we’re going to notice. And notice more if we’re just sitting quietly. For me, it’s the space between my thoughts when I’m sitting, open to whatever, without overt distractions. Especially tech ones. That space is where the peace is.
Oh, I loved Marilyn in Northern Exposure! Thank you for the reminder, and thank you for letting me into your small oasis of peace. You're absolutely right that doing less and finding moments of stillness is how we're all going to survive. xo
I loved her so much. And Ruth Ann. And Maggie. And Ed. And Chris. I can hear her level, certain voice saying: You couldn’t do it. (I wonder if I’m remembering that correctly. I think I’m in the ballpark…) Tell me how you’re doing! Dm me!
Wendy, excellent essay today. I know I've said this many times now, but we are so alike. I am doing these same things. Or trying too. I think we'll both get there in time. 🩷
I get that! “busy yet unable to focus” It’s really hard. So much of the world is unsettling. Stillness, and nature, and any break from my phone or laptop, helps me focus. Building it up in little chunks. A women’s circle and dance morning sounds really fun. I hope it wraps you in peace and joy and community.
I try to stay offline before I start working for the day. When I am out of the house, waiting for appointments in situations where it would be so easy just to scroll on my phone, I'm trying to draw in my small sketchbook I now carry with me. I am not always successful.
There is so much that wants to take my attention, make me angry, make me crazy that it's all I can do to resist. I've banished social media apps from my phone, quit Instagram and Xitter. I would quit FB, but it's where my sketcher group posts our outings and other methods have proved too unwieldy. I have no time for 50 texts trying to figure out where we're going. Maybe we will figure something else out, but that is up to the group's founders.
Anyway, wonderful post with good thoughts. When I try to clear my mind I fall asleep, but that is not terrible either.
Thank you, Anne! You’re being very mindful about your choices and I think that’s the best we can do. I’ve been carrying a sketchbook, too—something I never did before unless it was a legit Urban Sketcher outing. Our group only had FB when I joined, and I’m not on FB, so I asked for alternatives. I don’t know if they’re still on FB, but they also (or instead) now do a group email, which works great for me. There is a constant battle for our attention and happiness. I saw a meme today that said something like: Our bodies weren’t designed to be updated every 15 minutes on what the worst person in the world is doing. I have to step away. And you’re the second person to mention sleep when trying to be still. Me, too. I kept falling asleep during Nidra yoga. Haha. And yep—the sleep is just as necessary as the stillness. They’re both repair. x
Maybe once I’ve been in the group for longer, I can suggest the group email idea. Our group is private/secret, at least as long as FB still allows that option, so no one can search for the group. I think that was so we could post personal addresses and such. FB has become so unpleasant and full of ads and AI that it not tempting to spend hours there.
And speaking of sketching, be sure to message me when you are planning to come to Whidbey. Mid July and later will be a little less constricted for me. My show is in august, and it would fun for me to visit the gallery with you.
My show opens August 1st (actually it will be up by Wednesday July 29) I won't exactly be taking the month off, but I will be much more lax in my work habits in August. I am sharing the show with my longtime friend Kathy Brown who is an amazing plain air painter. This will be one of my quirkier shows, with a lot of it being my experimentations in combining painting and monotype with lots of rock images. I deliver the show on Monday July 27th. it will be up until August 29th, although sometimes Rob will let sold paintings leave after 2 weeks.
Perfect. I put it on my calendar. Is the first weekend not the best time to come? As in, will you be busy then with friends or appearances at the gallery?
Really enjoyed this meditation on stillness. Feeling inspired to try your gradual approach to it. Almost any time I try meditating, I fall asleep. Probably a sign that I need to rest much more than I am.
Thank you, Rita! You probably do. God, so many of us are so tired. I tried Nidra yoga and kept falling asleep. You’re “supposed” to stay awake and alert in meditation (or yoga), but honestly? I think let your body do whatever it needs to do.
What a beautiful reminder! Isn’t it wild to discover it’s usually resistance that causes the angst, not so much the object/experience we are resisting?
“There are galaxies within us.” I fully endorse your introverted, quiet way Wendy. So much adventuring can happen within. 💛
YES! It creates a push/pull, so nothing can freely move through. And yes on the adventuring. When there’s too much input (which happens so easily) I can hardly hear my own thoughts for the constant reactions to others. Thank you, K, for the lovely, thoughtful comment. ❤️
I loved Northern Exposure, too! And I, too, have a difficult time sitting still. Yoga helps(but that’s doing something, right?) I do love the end where we lay down on our mats and close our eyes. I look forward to reading more about your explorations in stillness.
Thank you, Susan! And, well, I think there's a spectrum of activity. Yoga is certainly on the peaceful end. But I was (am!) interested in what bubbles up when I'm not focused on anything in particular, even something very slow and chill...
I love this! I have a great deal of difficulty doing nothing. Just sitting with my thoughts. I admire anyone who can do it for 10 minutes, much less an hour. But you've given me the itch to try it.
Such a great essay Wendy! I love the quote: ''I felt in need of a great pilgrimage, so I sat still...'' My favorite pilgrimage is to go in the garden and just sit. Sit, listen, look and sometimes just close my eyes and be. Walking barefoot to get to the lounge chair is part of it for me. Feeling the earth beneath my feet (it is a bit cold right now though!) makes me feel grounded! I've meditated on and off for over 45 years, and I love the peacefulness of just sitting and breathing. Often I've felt that it wasn't ok to just sit, but I realize that it is the best thing to do at times.
Thanks Wendy for reminding me that it is something worth doing....still.
That quotation has stuck with me since I first saw it. It was a revelation. Kabir was a wise one. Your garden pilgrimages sound sacred. And I know that it’s hard to carve out time when there is always something pulling at us (the to do list that never ends!). But rest and quiet is just as important as any of those other things. Essential. Thank you for being here, Jeannine. I appreciate you very much. ❤️
I love this. I work to accomplish what I want to each day and my rule is to stop at 4 pm and rest. I’ll try the pause of stillness! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you for the kind comment! We all have so much to do…it matters to stop and rest and be, too. Your rule is a very, very good one. ❤️
But I miss feeling an expansiveness of time.
This. Yea this. It’s one of the reasons I started going on silent retreat While also recognizing just yesterday I watched the flicker of my lit Mary candle and was transfixed for I don’t know how long. That’s good for me 🥰💜
Yes—exactly. Fire, water. Anything that mesmerizes us. When I stop, I remember that I CAN stop, and THAT makes me feel like there’s enough. Some of my favorite lines from any poem: To see a world in a grain of sand/And a heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/And eternity in an hour.
Eternity in an hour!
My favorite too. Listen to album Eternity’s Sunrise by Bill Douglas. First song is Heaven is a Wildflower using this poem. The music slows down the poem and gives it further meaning as a meditation in noticing.
Ooooh—thank you! I will go look for this…
There is definitely a message here for me, thank you, Wendy.💜
Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate you. ❤️
I'm smitten with that card, both the message and the art, and want something like it to hang in my house, perhaps at the bathroom mirror, or near my work space.
I can easily spend an hour "doing nothing" when I'm lying awake in bed wishing I was asleep. But that's not the same.I might be like Joel. If I'm outside, though, I'll have the option of being endlessly occupied by what I see an hear around me. Does that count? I'll try this sometime soon. Thank you, Wendy!
Her work is so great. I love her art and the choice of quotations. I bought a bunch of cards that day—I still have them and draw inspiration from them. Her work is on Etsy. Her company is Sacred Bee.
And you bring up a really interesting point. Is it doing nothing if you’re occupied, paying attention? No wonder I prefer doing it outside. But I’m thinking yes. Because we can’t turn off all of our senses, so of course we’re going to notice. And notice more if we’re just sitting quietly. For me, it’s the space between my thoughts when I’m sitting, open to whatever, without overt distractions. Especially tech ones. That space is where the peace is.
Oh, I loved Marilyn in Northern Exposure! Thank you for the reminder, and thank you for letting me into your small oasis of peace. You're absolutely right that doing less and finding moments of stillness is how we're all going to survive. xo
I loved her so much. And Ruth Ann. And Maggie. And Ed. And Chris. I can hear her level, certain voice saying: You couldn’t do it. (I wonder if I’m remembering that correctly. I think I’m in the ballpark…) Tell me how you’re doing! Dm me!
Ruth Ann! And her embarrassment that one of her kids was an investment banker :-)
What a lovely and enchanting universe that show created.
Hahahaha. I didn’t remember that part. I do remember Ruth Ann and Ed dancing on their graves. It was truly enchanting.
Wendy, excellent essay today. I know I've said this many times now, but we are so alike. I am doing these same things. Or trying too. I think we'll both get there in time. 🩷
Thank you, D. I think we will, too. Or at least in moments, which is sometimes all there is in this imperfect, challenging world. x
What an inspiring piece! I'm in total creative doldrums atm, exhausted yet restless-hearted, not busy yet unable to focus.
You've inspired me...going to a women's circle and dance morning today - going with a more positive heart now💙
I get that! “busy yet unable to focus” It’s really hard. So much of the world is unsettling. Stillness, and nature, and any break from my phone or laptop, helps me focus. Building it up in little chunks. A women’s circle and dance morning sounds really fun. I hope it wraps you in peace and joy and community.
I try to stay offline before I start working for the day. When I am out of the house, waiting for appointments in situations where it would be so easy just to scroll on my phone, I'm trying to draw in my small sketchbook I now carry with me. I am not always successful.
There is so much that wants to take my attention, make me angry, make me crazy that it's all I can do to resist. I've banished social media apps from my phone, quit Instagram and Xitter. I would quit FB, but it's where my sketcher group posts our outings and other methods have proved too unwieldy. I have no time for 50 texts trying to figure out where we're going. Maybe we will figure something else out, but that is up to the group's founders.
Anyway, wonderful post with good thoughts. When I try to clear my mind I fall asleep, but that is not terrible either.
Thank you, Anne! You’re being very mindful about your choices and I think that’s the best we can do. I’ve been carrying a sketchbook, too—something I never did before unless it was a legit Urban Sketcher outing. Our group only had FB when I joined, and I’m not on FB, so I asked for alternatives. I don’t know if they’re still on FB, but they also (or instead) now do a group email, which works great for me. There is a constant battle for our attention and happiness. I saw a meme today that said something like: Our bodies weren’t designed to be updated every 15 minutes on what the worst person in the world is doing. I have to step away. And you’re the second person to mention sleep when trying to be still. Me, too. I kept falling asleep during Nidra yoga. Haha. And yep—the sleep is just as necessary as the stillness. They’re both repair. x
Maybe once I’ve been in the group for longer, I can suggest the group email idea. Our group is private/secret, at least as long as FB still allows that option, so no one can search for the group. I think that was so we could post personal addresses and such. FB has become so unpleasant and full of ads and AI that it not tempting to spend hours there.
And speaking of sketching, be sure to message me when you are planning to come to Whidbey. Mid July and later will be a little less constricted for me. My show is in august, and it would fun for me to visit the gallery with you.
I’m planning on it! You are set to be one of my summer outings. When exactly is your show?
My show opens August 1st (actually it will be up by Wednesday July 29) I won't exactly be taking the month off, but I will be much more lax in my work habits in August. I am sharing the show with my longtime friend Kathy Brown who is an amazing plain air painter. This will be one of my quirkier shows, with a lot of it being my experimentations in combining painting and monotype with lots of rock images. I deliver the show on Monday July 27th. it will be up until August 29th, although sometimes Rob will let sold paintings leave after 2 weeks.
Perfect. I put it on my calendar. Is the first weekend not the best time to come? As in, will you be busy then with friends or appearances at the gallery?
The first weekend will not be the best time to come, as I won't have much time to hang out. But any time after that would be great.
Our sketcher group meets every Friday FYI. We are generally outside that time of year so I think you could join us if it works out for you.
Yep, I would love to.
Really enjoyed this meditation on stillness. Feeling inspired to try your gradual approach to it. Almost any time I try meditating, I fall asleep. Probably a sign that I need to rest much more than I am.
Thank you, Rita! You probably do. God, so many of us are so tired. I tried Nidra yoga and kept falling asleep. You’re “supposed” to stay awake and alert in meditation (or yoga), but honestly? I think let your body do whatever it needs to do.
What a beautiful reminder! Isn’t it wild to discover it’s usually resistance that causes the angst, not so much the object/experience we are resisting?
“There are galaxies within us.” I fully endorse your introverted, quiet way Wendy. So much adventuring can happen within. 💛
YES! It creates a push/pull, so nothing can freely move through. And yes on the adventuring. When there’s too much input (which happens so easily) I can hardly hear my own thoughts for the constant reactions to others. Thank you, K, for the lovely, thoughtful comment. ❤️
I loved Northern Exposure, too! And I, too, have a difficult time sitting still. Yoga helps(but that’s doing something, right?) I do love the end where we lay down on our mats and close our eyes. I look forward to reading more about your explorations in stillness.
Thank you, Susan! And, well, I think there's a spectrum of activity. Yoga is certainly on the peaceful end. But I was (am!) interested in what bubbles up when I'm not focused on anything in particular, even something very slow and chill...
I love this! I have a great deal of difficulty doing nothing. Just sitting with my thoughts. I admire anyone who can do it for 10 minutes, much less an hour. But you've given me the itch to try it.
Yay! It’s a good thing, I think. Please tell me how it goes!