Nandini Doreswamy

I find myself spelling Stillness with a capital “S” because it is so vastly different from sitting still and ‘doing nothing’ in the cliché of the couch potato. To me, Stillness is a joyous exploration of inner space, learning to solve the thrilling mystery of who I really am - a celebration of the core and essence of being.

To sit under a tree on lush green grass and idly observe my thoughts, like war planes flying far above, battling it out for irrelevant supremacy. To let go of past resentments, dogmas and ideologies; to watch each of them float away like a child’s paper boat, observing them yet unattached to their journey or final destination.

To be aware of the unique chance of human experience and enjoy the wonder of this rare blue planet.

To feel the soothing calm of my inner self, my essential humanity. To savour the absence of City Noise inside my head – meetings, bills, phone calls, emails, grocery lists – to float free of all these petty little storms that buffet the inner sea of tranquility.

We can’t hear the sound of Stillness, but we can occasionally see its simple clarity - in the face of a Shaolin monk, the smile of a Masai warrior. For those who live in Stillness don’t need face creams and botox to let the radiance of their being shine through.

They dwell in that blessed space of oneness with all people, all things. A space where there is no separation between good and bad, rich and poor, haves, have-nots and have-beens. Where success, accomplishment, mediocrity, talent and dismal failure all flow seamlessly within the perfection of the unified whole.

And yet Stillness is not silence. It is the sweet music of awareness of that which we really are – an integral part of an infinite cosmos without beginning or end. A quiet celebration of the here and now, embracing this earth and this beautiful life.

I have only begun to glimpse Stillness, but the more I feel it's magic the more I yearn to Just. Be. Still.

© Nandini Doreswamy