Why is it so hard to be still?

Have you noticed all the noise currently in the world? It's Election Day here for us which means our last days and weeks have been filled with a lot of hatred and arguing; it's everywhere. It should be a sign of democracy working, but instead it's become about who can spread more negativity. It's in the yard signs, the television ads, the billboards, the Internet, the news, the memes, and social media. Whatever happened to people respecting each other's differences? That seems to be a concept that has been lost amidst the chanting of 'I'm right, you're wrong'.

Somehow I think I have gotten way off track. What I wanted to write about today was discovering why it is so hard to be still. When we're still, we can appreciate the quiet; we can hear our inner thoughts better, we can let ourselves just be and get physically and mentally recharged. But some of us, myself included, have a very difficult time being still. We feel like we always need to be doing something; that if we allow ourselves to be still we are acting as though we've finished everything and have completed all of our responsibilities. It's like in order to be still, we have to give ourselves permission to be lazy. In actuality, being still is a good thing.

I took some time off this week to assist someone who needed a hand for a few days. I thought I could help by doing some of the routine things for them that they shouldn't do. The balance of the time we find ourselves sitting on the couch feeling like we should be doing something. We've watched some British Baking, some Pixar short clips, caught up on last week's episode of Survivor ... we even went so far as to start rewatching the very first episode of Survivor from over 20 years ago. We've tried to distract ourselves with things so we won't do anything physical, therefore encouraging rest and healing. We may be letting our bodies rest, but our brains are putting in overtime. We both did an absentee ballot for today so we wouldn't wouldn't miss out on that responsibility, but life still goes on outside the four walls of where we are.

This morning I awoke to total quiet, and not wanting to disturb anyone else I just sat still and listened for over an hour. There was the banging noise of the garbage truck emptying the dumpster in the parking lot at 6:00 a.m. and the automatic cat feeder dispensing at 7:00 a.m. But I did have time to think and reflect on some things; the healing for the person I am staying with, the many people we've lost this past year (relatives and friends), and the process and effects connected to our election today. Being still can be as simple as trying to look past everything that is being thrown at us and allowing ourselves the freedom to choose what we want to focus on for the day. Yes, it can be hard to be still, but so worth it if you can actually achieve it.

How are you at being still? Are you good at it or do you fight it, tooth and nail?

What's the last self-discovery you made when you were still?