The times of life transformations literally force us to stop moving outwardly and compel us to look within ourselves.

A few days ago a friend told me this story…

A young daughter went up to her father and asked him,

What is the most important thing in life?

To which he replied,

“Love”

After thinking for a moment, she answered back,

“Moving”

This struck me as a very clever answer to this question. Moving implies growth and growth means life. In contrast, to me, cessation means inner death. I am aware that for some people it´s an over exaggerated view on life. Let me be clear: In my opinion, cessation is not equated to standing still.

Time spent standing still and looking at “what is” has a special value and huge potential to develop oneself. It is during these times of pause that we are actually moving. Not moving outwardly, but rather internally.

These are the times when we are really able to see “what is”.

So, what is meant by the term “what is?”

That´s exactly the question you should ask yourself, because that is the point where we truly progress and grow, where we get to understand ourselves better and find out what we are and what we are not.

How can we understand what is going on around us or understand other people, if we don´t understand ourselves first? Everything would just be an interpretation and summarization of concepts that have been learnt through misunderstanding ourselves. It would come from an unreal, idealistic view that is created by our conditioned mind, from the self creation of an “I” or “Ego”—something that is covered with all kinds of different layers, all with the same purpose of holding on to this self-created “I.” 

If you try to understand the world from this perspective, by looking at everything from the self made “I,” how will you be able to see the things around you with a clear view?

Then, how much value does the outward movement have? We can´t understand the ‘observed’ when we don´t first understand the ‘observer’, as the ‘observed’ is the ‘observer.’ We can´t get a clear understanding of the seer, therefore, the seen when we don´t ask questions about and reaching out for “what is” or “what is actually not.

Often these times of stillness are when everything falls apart, for example during times of loss or big life transformations.

They are times when we really can (or sometimes even have to) be honest with ourselves—times that we often can´t find due to the hectic lifestyle of modern living. So, if you view these moments of pause as opportunities for growth and personal movement—moving towards your essence—then moving during times of standing still suddenly holds a completely new and valuable meaning, and you will see them as something to really appreciate and to be grateful for.

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Assist Ed: Gabriela Magana/Ed: Sara Crolick