“Can’t you sit still?” “Be quiet.”
Did you grow up listening to that music? Even as adults, we have trouble being still. At those times where we do have an opportunity to sit in a quiet room, our thoughts are racing at hyperspeed. When we think we are praying, we just have words tumble all over themselves. Even when we are in a “conversation” we spend more time thinking about what we’ll say next than listening to what the other person is saying. Sort of reminds me of the quote I used last night to finish up the Yoga class from George Bernard Shaw. “The problem with communication is the illusion that it really happened.”
I have been asked how I can maintain perspective and balance in a world of people screaming at each other and hating each other. Actually, I can’t maintain perfect balance, but the answer comes from stillness. Living most of my life having periods of silence with God. I listen. I feel His presence.
T.S. Eliot, in his poem “Burnt Norton” in the Four Quartets, says it beautifully,
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
Seek the still point. That is the best advice I can give. In the stillness of the very early morning, relax, let your mind clear, and empty yourself. Much like you cannot put something in a bowl if it is filled. It must be empty to be used. If your mind and soul are full of much idle conversation, there is no room for God to come in. And it’s all about letting God enter in the stillness to help you gain perspective, balance–and to gain insight into what God wants you to be doing in His name. Find that still point and dance with God.
Faith Venture 
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