Poem: Stillness

Projects and deadlines
World-class boxing matches
Battling it out in my brain
Scenarios and conversations making laps
Like the Daytona 500
No one can work in this mess
Time out for stillness
Ding ding ding
Come back
Ready to take on the world
Ding ding ding
Ready to be my best
—
About the poem:
When I did a nutrition and weight-loss program years ago, I discovered that I often ate when I was too overwhelmed or too tired to figure out what I really needed to do. I was on a strict calorie intake and realized that when I felt like that, often, just taking a nap for a few minutes was enough to refresh myself. And when I learned meditation, I learned another way to escape the repetitive stress of anxious thinking. These are ways to make friends with reality: the first step in a peaceful life.
Today, I took a break for a mid-afternoon nap, before I had to tackle a complex project. It was perfect. I laid my head down knowing that now was the time for rest and later was the time to think about it. The ability to still your mind is valuable in ways that you don’t realize. Without it, the lack of focus robs you of both work and rest.