We live in a world that teaches us to keep moving.
Do more.
Try harder.
Make another call.
Find another solution.
Push through.
And sometimes, that is exactly what is required.
But there are other moments when we have called, searched, planned, prayed, asked, worked and done what we know to do—and still, the answer has not appeared.
What then?
For me, some of the wisdom I grew up with in the Bible has taken on deeper meaning as I have grown spiritually.
“Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.”
“Having done all… stand.”
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
For years, I could hear words like these and think primarily about faith.
Today, I also hear something about wellbeing.
There comes a point when constant searching stops being productive action and becomes agitation.
The body tightens.
The mind races.
Every unanswered question begins to feel like an emergency.
And because we are still doing something, we convince ourselves that we are being responsible.
But perhaps responsibility also includes knowing when to stop.
Standing Is Not Doing Nothing
There is a difference between giving up and standing.
Giving up says, There is nothing more.
Standing says, I have done what I know to do from where I am. I will remain present, attentive and available for what comes next.
That is not passivity.
It takes tremendous inner steadiness to resist the urge to manufacture an answer simply because uncertainty is uncomfortable.
Sometimes we interfere with our own clarity because we are so desperate for movement that any movement begins to look like progress.
It isn’t.
A hurried yes can create another problem.
A decision made from fear can take us farther from what we actually need.
And another hour of frantic thinking does not necessarily produce the wisdom that five quiet minutes can reveal.
The Sacred Pause
This is where my understanding of wellbeing and spirituality meet.
The pause can be sacred.
Not because everything magically disappears when we become still, but because stillness changes the place from which we meet what remains.
We breathe.
We listen.
We allow the nervous system to settle.
We remember that the situation before us is something we are experiencing; it is not the entirety of who we are.
And perhaps most importantly, we make room for possibilities that our frightened minds could not see while desperately trying to control the outcome.
There is a quiet rebellion in that.
In a culture that glorifies constant action, choosing stillness can be an act of profound self-leadership.
Trust Does Not Cancel Action
I don’t believe trust means sitting down and expecting life to do everything for us.
We make the telephone call.
We send the application.
We have the difficult conversation.
We create the programme.
We ask for help.
We knock on doors.
We take responsibility for what belongs to us.
And then there comes a point when we must allow ourselves to stop knocking long enough to hear whether another door has opened.
That, too, is action.
That, too, is leadership.
That, too, is faith.
Perhaps You Have Done Enough for This Moment
Maybe there is something in your own life that you have been wrestling with.
You have thought about it from every angle.
You have tried.
You have prayed.
You have researched.
You have worried.
And somewhere underneath all that activity, perhaps there is a quieter invitation:
Stand.
Not forever.
Not because the matter doesn’t require attention.
Simply because you do not have to solve everything from a state of fear.
Have something nourishing.
Drink your tea.
Step outside.
Pray.
Meditate.
Rest.
Listen.
Allow yourself to remember that there is wisdom beyond the part of you desperately trying to figure everything out.
Then, when the next step becomes clear, take it.
And if it isn’t clear yet?
Perhaps, for this moment, standing is enough.
Teaching Tuesday Reflection
Where in my life am I being invited to stop forcing an answer and become still enough to recognize the next step?
Rooted in Spirit. Rising in Service. Radiating Peace and Abundance.
Rev. Joslyn Farray Pierre
Wellbeing Educator & Founder, Intuitive Wellbeing Institute
Leave a Reply