Learn To Sit With Yourself
Several times a year I will encounter a quote that lovingly haunts me. Despite my best efforts I can’t shake it. I wrestle with it and then cast it aside, only to have it pop-up again in the most unusual places. It can feel spooky - like the space between heaven and earth has become very thin. When this happens, I’ve learned to pay attention.
I currently have a benevolent specter, which is a quote from Blaise Pascal:
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."
This was written 400 years ago. There were no trains, no cars, no telephones, no airplanes, no televisions, no radios, no computers. Printed books were relatively new. And yet …
ALL OF HUMANITY’S PROBLEMS …
Stem from man’s inability …
TO SIT QUIETLY IN A ROOM ALONE.
Pascal was on to something. When was the last time you sat quietly with yourself? It is not that we are incapable, but I wonder if we are unwilling to accept the difficult thoughts and feelings that arise when we slow down. If you want more peace in your life, you will need to make a practice of sitting quietly with yourself.
By slowing down, sitting quietly, meditating, etc. we are learning to allow our thoughts and feelings to be what they are - we are not fighting them or avoiding them. They get to have a seat at the table so to speak. We become a gracious host to our own inner world.
And most of us know how it feels to be in the presence of a gracious host - we relax. This is why accepting our thoughts and feelings releases some of their intensity.
You can probably also see how if we cannot accept the various (even conflicting) perspectives within ourselves, we will not be able to stand differing opinions from others. Our tendency toward external conflict might be a mirror image of our internal conflict.
So, if you wish the world were a more hospitable place, you can do your part by calling a truce within yourself. End the war. Find a room and practice sitting quietly. Be gracious towards your thoughts and feelings - even the difficult ones.
It is my hope that the quote from Blaise Pascal will lovingly haunt you too. :)
Happy to be in your corner,
Tom
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