Thursday, March 14, 2013

Sit Down and Shut Up


Busy, busy, stay busy. At all costs, don't be still. Here, there, run, run, run. Go to work. Do something. Join a Cause! Play games. Entertain your children. Watch TV. Take a class on something: anything. Talk on the phone, blah-blah. It’s been almost an hour since you changed your status on Facebook: OMG!!! Hang with buddies. Go see a movie. Read, read, read. Drink, drink, drunk. Fill that calendar. Do. Something.

You tell yourself the busyness is because life is short and you intend to live it to the fullest, but you know better. You know what is haunting you, chasing you down, threatening to break through your defenses. All your talk of living in the moment has nothing to do with savoring life. You are running and hiding and you know it.

"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." BAM! Pascal delivers the blow, perfectly aimed. "Quiet" must be avoided. "Alone" is the enemy. “Action! Aaaaaaaand cue Noise!”  But, as the activity and noise escalates, the misery increases.

Shhhhhhhh: Be Still
From time to time, take the time to be quiet. Choose to remember. Let the dead be resurrected and allowed to speak again. Listen. Don't interrupt. In the quietness of your heart, pay attention to where, long ago, your "present" began. "When did I start running?" "What am I running from?" "From whom am I running?" Those ghosts have names and stories. "Where are the rooms in my soul with locked doors?" Unlock the doors. Do it. Now. Get it over with. Trust me, you will be better off for doing so.

Be still.
Be quiet.
Be honest.
Be patient.
Be charitable.

Allow your soul to settle and be centered. Take a breath. Take another breath. Allow your soul to breathe. Embrace the pain that erupts. Sit in it all the way to the end. How do you know you’ve reached the end?

When you unclench your fists,
When tears turn into a smile of acceptance,
When fear is replaced with peace,
When anger is transformed into faith, hope, and love,
When the wound becomes your friend,
When it is okay to be in a quiet room, alone. 

Yeah. Sometimes it will take more than one sit down.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2013

1 comment:

  1. I read the first one, it was very good & it seemed to be what I needed in this very moment.

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