Here, in the stillness of the heart it ultimately matters not what storms rage around. Indeed, all the storms of feeling, emotion, sensation and thought eventually come to rest in and know the stillness of the heart. It is the final winner, this stillness. It has the final word, spoken in utter silence of course.
For a few weeks now, almost a month, I have felt this stillness ever present. No matter what is going on in the outer world around me and within me, this stillness pervades. As if there is a ring of space around all things, all happenings, around each moment. And yet I can be fully and completely engaged in this moment, whatever it may hold. There is no division from life in this stillness.
This stillness, the stillness of the heart, is so profound and so immensely powerful that nothing can shake it. Nothing can pierce this stillness or disturb it. It’s quite a revelation to feel this stillness in the midst of seeming calamity or noise or disturbance. And yet, it is always there… ready and waiting for us to simply turn intentionally toward it.
This deep peace, this unshakeable stillness is within us all. It has always been there.
I have found that the more clock time I spend simply looking at this stillness or resting in silence or noticing the space around and in me, the more I find it a constant companion in everyday life. The more often I turn toward this stillness, the more often I notice the silence beneath all the sounds, the more I come to see that it is my deepest and most primal identity.
To know myself as this stillness is the softest and sweetest kind of reassurance. It is, to me, knowing the peace of God. And it’s always fresh, always known as if the for first time. And living in the heart of this stillness, amid the hustle and noise of the world, is to live in the presence of God. If we allow it, living this way informs all that we do. It is transformative and healing. Living this way, we are literally the hands and feet of Christ, literally the breathing, moving, speaking body of love in the world.
With it, comes a sure confidence, a quiet and calm confidence and clarity in situations that before may have sent me reeling or scattered in confusion. If there is action to be taken, then action is taken cleanly and without drama or fanfare. It is living in simplicity. For the stillness of the heart IS simple. There is nothing complicated or obtuse about it.
Living in the heart of stillness, one sees life clearly as it is not as our minds construct it with their stories of lack or deficiency or victim hood. Some of that may play out for a while or from time to time but it cannot thrive for long in the heart of stillness, in the heart of silence, in the heart of love. Drama is dropped when we allow this stillness to penetrate the world we have made in our heads.
The heart of stillness is an inexhaustible resource, ready and waiting within us. All we have to do is turn to see it, feel it and ultimately know it as our deepest self.