Be Still

Be Still

Years ago,

when I was a teenager,

my dad would sit

at the kitchen table

and think for hours on end

as he slowly smoked cigarettes

and drank black, hot coffee.

At the time I couldn't

figure out what

the point of it was.

I'd ask him,

“Dad, why don't you get up

and do something?”

He always told me

the same thing.

He'd look at me, smile,and say,

“I'm already doing something.”

It wasn't until years later

that I figured out he was right.

Sitting and thinking

is a beginning,

middle, and end all by itself.

It's one of the

more important things

we all need to do

and I'd be willing to bet

it's something that most of us

have forgotten,

or never learned how to do.

Our culture raises us

from embryos to stay busy

and most people are enculturated

so heavily that they will do

practically anything

to avoid having to sit and think.

On the rare occasion they do

sit and just think,

it's only when they have

some sort of crisis in their lives

and feel the need

to sort things out.

Get acquainted with yourself.

Teach yourself to be still.

If you do, I'll bet you'll find

that you're a pretty enjoyable

person to hang out with.

Start by having

a conversation with yourself

when you are all alone.

For an hour or two,

sit somewhere comfortable

with a drink and think about

anything you'd like.

Put down your phone.

Don't text your friends.

Don't sit at the computer.

Don't watch

the wide screen television.

Ask yourself a few questions

about things big and small.

See what sort of answers

you bring to the table.

Great things always begin

by being still.

Likewise, all your

journeys inward start

by being still, my friend.

My dad was a brilliant man

and a natural born engineer---

Among the best I've ever come

across or even heard of

and all the things he made

in life began by sitting

at the kitchen table thinking.

And me? Well, just about

everything I ever write

begins by being still for awhile.

Dewey Dirks