I recently returned from a kayak / camping adventure. It has been a while since I had done a paddle trip like this. And though it was a "guided" trip with lots of clients (meaning I didn't have to do the cooking or hauling of food, water and cooking supplies) there were many opportunities to create spaces and moments of solitude amid the camaraderie of lovely folk. Yes, I was in the wilderness, but you can just as easily find those moments on a busy subway or surrounded by the cacophony of many people.
Chapter 47 of the Dao De Jing says
" Without going outside, you may know the whole world. Without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. Thus, the wise know without traveling; See without looking: Work without doing."
And so I turn to chapter 16 -excerpt
"Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still. The 10,000 things rise and fall while the self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. The way of nature is unchanging....... "
Become aware of your moments of stillness and log them and their quality ( for just a while) and then cultivate stillness until such time that it all becomes unnecessary to do so because you and stillness have come into balance with the busy-ness and dailiness of your life.
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