I read an article in Ladies Home Journal today. The article interviewed three women--Dana Delaney, Julie Bowen, and Emily Deschanel. Dana Delaney who is 55 (if you can believe it...I remember when she was on China Beach) said something I sort of grabbed onto. When asked to define what real beauty is for her she responded with, "The older I get, the more I find beauty is stillness".
I like that. She went on to say that she takes time to sit and be still in a world of too much conversation and too many distractions, she works to take time to be still. I think she has something there. In my professional world, I would call it being mindful. I think I don't do enough of that. I think that I need to do more of that. I want to take time to just BE. There is nothing wrong with that, especially when the majority of one's day is spent reacting to environmental stimulus.
I think that as a writer I take a good amount of time to pay attention to what is going on internally with me, and I understand the value of stillness, having had the worth of the practice addressed again and again in my psychological training. I had just never attached beauty to the practice. But I think I will now.
Beauty is being still.
As I get older I find I am more able to be still. Giving myself permission to just sit in a spot, in the quiet, even for a few minutes, without any stimulation that requires my immediate attention is so fulfilling, centering, and somewhat decadent.
Some people are afraid to be still with their thoughts, afraid of what might come up. I understand that. I have been that way. But I find the better I know myself the more willing I am to pop the top and allow what is under the surface up for some air and light.
If stillness is part of beauty, I want a piece of it. Take a few minutes to be still today. Look out the window, at a picture, or just close your eyes. And ENJOY the sensation.
L
