Don’t tell me to be calm
when there are so many reasons to be angry…
I didn’t say to be calm, said the wind,
I said to breathe.
We’re going to need a lot of air
to make this hurricane together.
— Rev. Lynn Ungar, from her poem, “Breathe”
Submitted by Linda Sherry
Often when stillness weaves its way into our discussions, it’s framed as a retreat strategy. A balm from the frantic and frequently wounding world. But as wise ones like Rev. Unger remind us, that’s not quite right. It’s less like a locked room that keeps all the enemies out and more like an oxygen mask that brings us back to life, that fills us with power. Stillness doesn’t simply slow our breath and energy; it fills us with it.
As Unger suggests, we don’t really want to be told to be calm these days. There is indeed so much to be angry about. So much that needs to be defended, resisted and restored.
A stillness that invites us simply to escape the world is dangerous. A stillness that merely anesthetizes our nerves comforts us but widens the wounds of the world. … .and alongside this vision of stillness enabling us to gather strength also sits the equally important idea of stillness as something that clarifies our perception.
Even sequestered we can busy ourselves and forget
to stop. When we stop and wait for others
in the gap we enlarge ourselves. When the merely important stops for what is beautiful,
when we let a little sabbath interrupt our busyness
the holy enters in the empty spaces.
Stop, and let the Holy breathe in you.
Who knows? In the pause, angels may parade
the neighborhoods of your soul.
— Steve Garnaas-Holmes
We have forgotten what rocks and plants still know;
we have forgotten how to be still, to be ourselves,
to be where life is here and now.
— Eckhart Tolle
It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still and just like that, something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice of judgment drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up to life is what we were born for. As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward without even knowing where I am going, that many times I can make the choice to stop, to breathe, to be and walk slowly into the mystery.
— Danna Faulds
Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be Astonished.
— Mary Oliver, from her poem, “Learning to be Astonished“
The December 2020 theme for worship, RE, and small groups at WUUC is: What Does It Mean to be a People of STILLNESS? Our monthly themes and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations. A small sample of thoughts to ponder about compassion from Soul Matters.
For Spiritual content related to the theme of Stillness, go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dXlLbi7GpaoJjkvN54A07cIFkeCLq0FO/view?usp=sharing