ACCORDING TO JIM / STILLNESS
Even as a kid this was never even close to an accurate description of me.
Nope, not this either.
“Not only don’t I remember having idle time,” I recently said to my wife, “I don’t even remember long stretches of boredom, sitting and wondering what I was going to do.”
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Admittedly, I’m one of those folks who intentionally trying to fit a whole lot of life into each and every day – work, the responsibilities of being both a husband and a son, work, exercise, reading, work, taking care of a couple pugs, work - and I freely admit that it’s taken me fifty years to begin to attempt to find a “stillness” of a different type. So, it is no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed Ryan Holiday’s latest best-selling book, “Stillness is The Key.”
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Stillness?
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On a recent podcast, Holiday defined it this way: “It means not being jerked around by your emotions; it means not being jerked around by external, outside forces; it means having the quiet confidence and equanimity that allows you to endure and survive and get through chaotic, dysfunctional times, distress, difficulty, and pain.”
Technology was to supposed make life easier, but I bet it’s no revelation to you when I say that not only has it extended the work day, it’s made life in general more intense. Social media tempts you with virtually constant notifications, and then proceeds to inundate you with almost non-stop vitriol and negativity. We live not only in a world of information overload , but in a world of opinion overload. People pride themselves on being trolls — as if by becoming one they have achieved something.
It’s constant, it’s relentless, and it is debilitating in ways both seen and unseen.
Technology was to supposed make life easier, but I bet it’s no revelation to you when I say that not only has it extended the work day, it’s made life in general more intense. Social media tempts you with virtually constant notifications, and then proceeds to inundate you with almost non-stop vitriol and negativity. We live not only in a world of information overload , but in a world of opinion overload. People pride themselves on being trolls — as if by becoming one they have achieved something.
It’s constant, it’s relentless, and it is debilitating in ways both seen and unseen.
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I believe my investment in stillness – both the book and the concept - is making me a better elected official. It’s making me a better husband. And it’s making me, hopefully, a happier, healthier and higher-functioning human being.
The author taps into the lessons of the Stoics, Eastern and Western traditions, and a variety of historical figures, in order to impart to the reader the lessons of the myriad individuals who, independently, found stillness.
The author taps into the lessons of the Stoics, Eastern and Western traditions, and a variety of historical figures, in order to impart to the reader the lessons of the myriad individuals who, independently, found stillness.
Many of us are searching for a better way to live. Some of us “want to do it all,” and are working to improve our abilities in order to achieve that. Searching for, acquiring, and embracing stillness can be the key. Admittedly, I failed to appreciate any iteration of this concept during my first five decades on this planet. Now in my sixth, I am working to make it part of my identity.
So please, find within yourself stillness -
and let me know what you think.
and let me know what you think.
