Psalm 46:10 Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God! Psalm 46:10
Sometimes, when we least expect it, life comes grinding to a halt. Our options to chose seem to disappear, evaporating like an invisible vapor, giving us the impression that choices were a delusion in the first place. We could go over all of the possibilities, the reasons or happenings in life that make us suddenly hit a wall of full stop, but we all know from personal experience that the list would be endless. We suffer from mini deaths, and grieving throughout our lives, when we change jobs, become ill, retire, move, divorce, you get the point. We tell ourselves shake it off, toughen up, back in the saddle, anything we need to say to brush off that desperate feeling of despair that comes when we are forced to adapt to a new way of life. Mostly, we are successful, we carry on and try to never look back but sometimes, the full stop gets us and that's when we are forced to look within, and investigate the true meaning of our lives. The restless feeling cannot be abated through action-you cannot run from it, drown it, smother it-it surfaces again and again demanding your full attention, like a petulant child, it does not let up until you scream "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME". With this acknowledgement, the persistent voice now has an audience, and conversation can begin. The first question the voice might ask is "what are you afraid of?". The voice might then ask "what are you running from, or running to?". Lastly, "what's the big hurry, and what about me?". Maybe the grinding to a halt, the circumstances that slow us down to a snails pace, the full stop experiences, are there because without them, we can ignore the "what about me" whisper, the "I have something to share with you" voice in our heads that we can temporarily still us with our busy as-a-bee lives. Here is what I have learned, Dear Reader. Sometimes, we are so busy, we lose ourselves in the fray. Sometimes we are so preoccupied that we forget who and what is important. Sometimes, the people we say are the most important to us are the farthest away...you might be too busy for conflict resolution or for problem solving or for that much needed heart to heart conversation that could heal an old wound. Life has a way of winning every single time, whether we agree to its rules or not, we are forced to play the game. When you are stopped in your tracks, and your attention is drawn inward, you have a choice-back to busy bee with the associated background hum and noise, or you can be still, listen, learn, grown, become free of the push and pull of a demanding and sometimes thoughtless world. Wholeness starts from within. Your body is more then a vehicle, more then a toy or tool at your disposal-it houses your soul. Sometimes being still is more valuable then any amount of work or exercise you can perform. Everything in its place and time, work and rest can coexist. Work and play can be playful twins. The outside and inside of who I am, who you are, can live in harmony, if we listen to the small still voice before it becomes a thunderous roar. Today I have been still, and it was good.