Be Still and Know
Have you ever wondered what people did before TV or radio? How did they not lose their minds from boredom?? Better yet, what did people do before electricity and lights? It’s hard to even conceive of living that way given our current society! We live in a world in which our minds are constantly distracted. We go from distraction to distraction without ever pausing to reflect and process. Here in lies the problem. We require stillness!
When was the last time you sat and did nothing? I’m not talking about vegging out in front of the TV for hours or mindlessly scrolling through social media. I’m talking about sitting and doing NOTHING. Setting your mind free of distractions allowing it to wander and reflect. To some who have been around long enough this idea isn’t completely foreign but to the younger generations many have been distracted for their entire lives! Many children these days grow up staring at screens day in and day out. There is a reason every religion on earth talks about quiet prayer or meditation. It’s because we all need stillness to be the best, most whole versions of ourselves.
We are living in the most informed time in history. Any information (right or wrong) is available to us at our fingertips. We can search any question and get an answer. But we need not search for it because we are constantly being bombarded with information every moment. From your TV, phone, and radio to billboards and marketing galore we are being told what to think and who we are constantly, and that way of living has turned us into people who are no longer able to think for ourselves but instead blindly follow along with the mainstream thoughts of the moment. It’s time to take back control of our thoughts and our minds and the first step is to do nothing.
I believe that God lives in our stillness. So often we pray for answers or solutions in life but then we rush off to find them in a book, a podcast, or a Facebook post from some famous pastor. Imagine asking a teacher a question then instead of listening for the reply we jumped on google for the answer. Even if the teacher did respond we’d be too distracted to hear. Now don’t get me wrong, God works in all sorts of ways, but we can always find Him in our still moments. This is evident in how He designed our minds to work. Pauses and breaks from input are required for proper mental health and processing. For memories to go from short term to long term requires input breaks. To truly learn something requires time to reflect. To fully understand ourselves and the world we live in, time to sit and ponder is absolutely necessary. You might be aware, but desperation and anxiety are skyrocketing in our world today largely because we never stop! It’s always go go go, jumping from distraction to distraction. When we live that way, of course we feel stressed an anxious!
It’s an easy thing to want to be still, it’s another thing to do it and that takes practice and effort! The easiest first step is to be still while you are driving. When you’re alone in your car turn off the radio. It’ll feel weird and awkward at first but soon you’ll start noticing the world around you. You’ll think deep thoughts and reflect on your day. The fact that you’re still doing something (driving) makes it a much easier transition.
The second step is to take a walk or a jog again with no music. Even better than driving you’re moving your body (and there’s no other people zooming around in their cars). Let your mind wander but also try to notice the things you see and hear.
The third step is to sit and notice. I love sitting with my eyes closed and using my other senses. Notice every sound that you can hear. Then notice everything you smell or everything you feel, even the weight of your clothes or the different temperatures you feel. Our world is so much more beautiful than just the things we can see. Try to quiet your thoughts and just sense the world.
From there you can go deep into the world of meditation and prayer but for most of us just turning off the TV or radio or putting down the cell phone for 15 minutes is a good first step. As you get better and better at it, you’ll be able to use stillness as a way to find answers or to process and understand the world we live in for ourselves or even just to find peace in your crazy life. So do your mind some good. Take time today to simply be still and know.
If you live in the Colorado Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake areas and you are ready to start your health journey, give us a call and let us help you and your family!
In Health and Faith,
Dr. Marc
Northgate Family Chiropractic
12245 Voyager Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
