Sunday Musings - On Stillness, Get Some Distance, Think for Yourself, and Go for a Walk
December 17th, 2023
Happy Sunday Friend!
Here is 1 quote I’m musing, 2 Ideas, 3 of my favorite things from the week, and 1 question. If you find it useful or interesting, please feel free to forward this along to some friends or others!
One Quote I’m Musing
“Stillness is not the absence or negation of energy, life, or movement. Stillness is dynamic. It is unconflicted movement, life in harmony with itself, skill in action. It can be experienced whenever there is total, uninhibited, unconflicted participation in the moment you are in—when you are wholeheartedly present with whatever you are doing."
-Erich Schiffmann
Modern life is so much more chaotic and busier than it was before the internet, before 24-hour news, before global interconnectivity. Good decisions, great performances don’t come from an empty tank. Nor does it come from a mind that is simultaneously consumed by what was, what is, and what will be. We have to find stillness to not only appreciate what we have, but to make the right decisions and perform at our best.
Stillness is about being focused, calm, and steady. Knowing yourself, the skill of 'being still' lets us respond in the right way – showing resolve when necessary and accepting what you can't control. When we can reach that point
Control Your Mind
The stoics talked about poverty not as a lack of finances. But uncontrolled fears, desires, hopes, and wishes for things outside and beyond what we have. Put another way, the world will never be enough for those who believe enough is too little. The tools you have at your disposal today are the same tools you’ll work with tomorrow. Use them fully.
Get a Hobby
Fixation on the things we are doing, the things we did, or the things we have yet to do takes us only as far as our mind can. Then we need distance, separation from it. That’s why we have editors, proofreaders, second sets of eyes to see what we can’t.
We reach a point in what we do where we must take a break before we can go any further.
Seneca says that the mind must be given relaxation, it will rise improved and sharper after a good break.
It is often by doing something else that requires a bit of focus, it creates the space for your mind to approach the issue asymmetrically.
Don’t Force It
We’ve all seen a speaker, or a musician, or a dancer who was forcing it. We can tell immediately the difference. The performance strikes us as unnatural, artificial, and it doesn’t ring true.
We’ve heard, seen, and (hopefully) experienced it at some point.
Stillness, the Zone, Flow.
We aren’t worried about what has happened, or what will happen. We’re present in the moment. Our senses feel alive, sharper, clearer, and we go about our endeavor with such ease and grace that it seems unnatural. We accomplish much in that state of stillness, decisions, and actions. Others want to get there, and we never want to leave there.
When we enter that period, however ephemeral, we accomplish great things. But finding it is the key. There is an ebb and flow in people, in society, in humanity. Shakespear talks of it in Julius Caesar, “There is a tide in the affairs of men; Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;”
Understanding the tide, finding the stillness, seeing the drift of things takes us from rowing in the mud to sailing with the currents and wind at our backs.
Two Ideas From Me
Get distance from your own thoughts and the situation.
It’s our civic duty to be informed. Not angry.
If what you’re consuming keeps you coming back for answers, it’s not informative. It’s a business model to keep you consuming it.
Three Favorite Things From Others
“Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out...You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” - Dr. Mae Jemison, Astronaut
“Paper is more patient than people” - Anne Frank, excerpt from Diary of a Young Girl | More
“Only ideas won by walking have any value” - Friedrich Nietzsche
One Question
If you had an uninterrupted hour with infinite ability to focus (stillness) today, what would you create?
Shoot Me Your Feedback!
Which is your favorite? What else do you want to see or what should I eliminate? Any other suggestions? Just send a tweet to @erichaupt on Twitter and put #SundayMusings at the end so I can find it. Or, eric@erichaupt.com for long form email.
Have a wonderful week, I’ll see you Sunday.
-e
