The Rhythm of Standing Still

by Madison Asher

It's a challenge to intentionally be still even if we know that’s what we need. In fact, it’s always a pain in the ass to do the least, to sit still comfortably. It’s a lot to ask so little of ourselves! I find we constantly seek something of substance to fill our stillness – an action, a to-do item, a physical motion. Our thoughts tend to be an eager candidate for the role, ready to take up that illusion of empty space. What happens if we don’t fill stillness and instead allow it to fill us? What can we notice happening when there’s nothing happening? Do you know what your rhythm of standing still feels like?

On the surface, stillness appears to be empty. But what happens when we feel into our inner landscape during those moments? Perhaps when we don’t try to fill stillness with movement, we gain access to the richness of what it has to offer us. It may seem impossible to sit still, do nothing and wait. So maybe we don’t start there. The drums and rhythms, for example, can fill that “void” while still removing our minds from our thoughts. They serve as an anchor to that illusion of nothingness that we believe stillness to be. I’m not asking you to sit still right now, but maybe, just maybe, sitting still can be the action we strive for when thinking about what to do next.