Finding Rest in the Still Point

While celebrations are wonderful and joyful, the stillnesses in our lives are often full of uncelebrated richness.

These still points may come as natural inflections in the ebb and flow of our lives, they may follow significant life events, and they can be intentionally created as a place to withdraw our energy from the external world.

Some of my favorite still points have been:

• The week following Christmas,
• The day after the birthday celebrations,
• The quietness after the passing of a loved one’s prolonged illness,
• Going to a retreat center 
• The silence that ensues when blanketed by a wintry snowfall. 

For a few short moments, time seems to stand still. We can hear our thoughts. We can be without being overrun. These brief but cherished moments provide rest, renewal, and inspiration.

The Winter Solstice is another of those moments in the still point that I look forward to each year. This cadence of the natural world calls us to rest and permits us, especially overachievers, to shift from action to reflection. I look forward to the winter months when life slows down.

As I reflect on this past year, a rhythm of loss and joy has been offset by steadying ourselves. Perhaps more than in other years, I am acutely aware of the impact of these challenging moments, and just when I think this may be the breaking point, I can find the still point and experience a sensation of my roots going deeper into the ground.

It is crucial in our development to resist the urge to get back too quickly to the world of action but instead stay open to the experience of slowing down and moving forward more intentionally and steadily.

The still points invite us to integrate what we’re learning in our lives and take these new perspectives forward with us.

Take It To Your Journal

1. What are the still points in your year?
2. What do you do during these moments? Do you try to fill the time with activities? Can you lean into the pause?
3. How might you bring more meaning into the still points in your life?