Quiet and Still – the Key to a Happy Life

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

Blaise Pascal

Life is in constant motion. Entertainment is everywhere. We are tethered by technology, and accessible anywhere, at any time. As a result, our minds are cluttered and chaotic, our thoughts are scattered and strewn. But that’s not how life is meant to be lived.

“A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live.”

Bertrand Russell

Why don’t we create space to be alone, to renew and refresh our minds? I suspect for many, the thought of being alone is unwelcome because we are afraid to be alone with our thoughts. That’s when the questions arise, and the guilt we so aptly push down, comes rushing to the surface. Some don’t want to be alone because they simply don’t like their own company.

Mark Twain said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition.” The problem is, we are often our own worst enemy, we are the ones who belittle ourselves.

What would happen if we all got a little more comfortable in our own skin? If we were intentional about fully embracing stillness? If we all got much better at just being? If Pascal was correct, I suspect that many of the world’s problems, certainly our own, would be greatly diminished if we could simply become less unhappy about ourselves.

Focus on your happiness and the world will certainly be a better place for all.

“Listen to silence. It has so much to say.”

Rumi