Balancing Movement and Stillness
The last few days I’ve been sitting with what appear to be opposing notions — the notion of movement, and that of stillness. You see, what I’m currently aware of is that I am heading towards a particular objective. Actually, who am I kidding — I’m heading towards several objectives, but they’re all on the same path. As each objective is met, another one is waiting further along. But that is not the point.
The point, instead, is that even as I head toward these objectives, no matter how clear I might be about what I want out of life, there are moments where the fog settles in and I can’t see where it is I’m headed. In these moments, I can choose to move forward, trusting my internal compass, or I can choose to be still for a bit, and wait for the fog to burn off.
My sense is that there are merits to both. In the movie Finding Nemo, when Dori forgets where she is and where she’s heading, her motto is to “keep on swimming, keep on swimming…” — and this approach can absolutely serve. It keeps momentum going, and gets you closer to your ultimate goal in some small way. That being said, sometimes you just have to stop and get your bearings. Sometimes, stopping and allowing the fog to lift shows you a whole new perspective on the path you’ve chosen. This doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily choose another path; it does however afford you the opportunity to come at your path from another angle, so to speak.
I guess what I’m realizing is this: there can be a real tendency to just forge ahead with a pig-headed determination when you’ve got a specific objective in mind. Sometimes, however, even as you plow ahead, the air gets murky, your vision gets impaired, and plowing ahead may actually be more of an act of danger than stick-to-it-iveness. In those moments, finding a place of stillness, and allowing things to settle may ultimately move you further along your path than would otherwise be possible. In other words, being still isn’t a bad thing. You’ve just got to find the right balance between forward movement and stillness. That’s what actually allows you to achieve your goal with panache.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gail Barker, Gail Barker. Gail Barker said: Balancing Movement and Stillness : http://www.stellarcc.com/2010/10/04/balancing-movement-and-stillness/ [...]