One Apple A Day #664 — stillness
"Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?
The Master doesn't seek fulfilment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things." — Lao-Tzu
A friend sent me this a few days ago, and these words have been working within me since then.
There are moments in life where we feel as if we are swimming in muddy water. We can't see clearly, and the more we move, the more the water becomes murky. It looks like everything we do, everything we say makes things worst. At the point that we begin wondering if there is a way out at all.
"Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?"
To stop and wait seems counterintuitive. Yet, it's only when you stop moving and agitating the water, that the mud starts to settle.
What does it mean to stay still in your situation? What would happen if you do nothing and say nothing for a while?
"Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?"
This is the tricky part for me. Because when you stop moving and the mud starts to settle, impatience grows. The more the water becomes clear, the more the desire to see through, to get the answer raises.
It is then that your inner strength is tested.
Can you resist the desire to act and wait for the right action to emerge?
How will you recognize it?
A good sign is the feeling of detachment from the outcome. When you're not focused on anything but the present moment, that's when the eyes of intuition will show you the way.