Being Still
The short excerpt is from Jennifer Pharr Davis in her book, Becoming Odyssa, to be released later this Fall. This book is from her first time of hiking all 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The short excerpt is Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Being still was a relatively new concept for me. I could not remember much stillness in my pre-trail life. And the times I do remember were highly uncomfortable. My whole life had been spent feeling like I should be doing something. I learned that I did not need much to be entertained. I did not need loud music, bright lights, or TV. I just needed to be still.
Until now, I had not been okay just being, I had to be doing. Everything was part of a schedule, a routine, a constantly flowing series of commitments. I never stopped after I finished an activity, I just looked ahead and prepared for whatever came next. I started to think about how many different things I used to do in a day. I would schedule myself to the max, and the only free time I would leave was taken up with getting from one commitment to the next.
On the trail, all I had to do was walk. It was up to me how far I wanted to walk and where I wanted to end up. I could stop when I wanted, I could eat when I wanted, I could take naps at any point during the day. The trail allowed me to feel a strong sense of freedom, and it helped me to see the oppression of a busy schedule and the multi-tasking required by civilization. I no longer saw what was civil about filling my life with commitments if I could not stop to watch the sunset or listen to the birds sing.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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