“Staying still” - as easy as it sounds, is one of the hardest things to do in the busyness and craziness of the world. I always preach practicing mindfulness, but I didn’t realize how hard it was for me until I decided I needed to take a break from the chaos of life and shut out the noise. I expected that a good unplugging was all I needed to quiet my mind, but I just couldn’t win. For every time I thought I had put my mind to sleep, I heard it say – “Ha! tricked ya!”

My mind was used to constant stimulation and the silence; instead of being soothing, felt like a void that my thoughts rushed to fill. Every worry, every unfinished task, and every random idea seemed to meet, creating a noise louder than the external sounds I was trying to escape. It was an overwhelming experience that left me feeling more restless than before.

Yet, in this struggle, I learnt something - staying still is a state of mind and its value sometimes lies in facing the mental chaos. It's not about achieving immediate peace but about learning to sit with the discomfort, to let the mind race, and eventually find its own rhythm. This process, though difficult, taught me resilience and patience. It made me realize that the practice of staying still is a journey, not a destination—a continuous effort to embrace stillness even in the noise.

Staying still is not about physical inactivity or laziness. It's about cultivating a state of mindfulness and presence in our lives. It's about pausing, taking a breath, and allowing ourselves to fully experience the present moment. We are all so focused on what the future holds that we forget to live in the moment, we forget that the only way we can make it to tomorrow is to get through today. Not just getting by but actually living through it.

So, while it may seem contradictory, the effort to stay still in a world that never stops moving can be incredibly rewarding. It requires persistence and a willingness to confront our inner noise, but the clarity and peace that eventually come are well worth the investment.

Through this entire process, I learned something valuable from a service I attended—a method to control my mind:

•         Catch your thoughts: Become aware of your thoughts as they arise.
•               Hold them in: Take a moment to pause and reflect on these thoughts.
•              Ask questions: Is this thought pure? Is it true? Does it reflect the truth of who I am?
•         Remember, they are just thoughts: What makes your thought  powerful is the focus you give it. It's like spotting something in a crowd; it becomes the only thing you see while everything else fades into the background.

So, my lovelies, guard your mind & heart for everything you do flows from it.