Patterns are contagious. Whether it is a behavior, a philosophy or habit, our tendency is to mimic those with whom we spend the most time with. 

This present culture is noisy, anxious and impatient. There is a constant need to be in the know which leaves little room to wonder. Although every relationship is capable of depth, conversations hover on the surface where it feels safe. And no one leaves home without their device as though it is just like any of their other appendages. 

  If we become unaware of the culture’s discomfort with silence, the ill at ease that rises when left to wonder, and the anxiety that arrives when a conversation lulls, then we too will become just as uncomfortable and high strung as everyone else around us.  

Practicing Your Calm

Is it any wonder that cultivating calmness is an anomaly, yet a necessity; a lost art, but something we envy when we notice it in others? 

Without putting calmness into practice, quieting our insides is unachievable. Besides that, we alone are the ones who have to do the work, no one else can do it for us. But just because we are the only ones who can do the work for ourselves does not mean we have to do it alone.  Instead, we can find others who practice, understand the importance, and value the benefits gleaned from staying composed in a culture that is disordered and discorded.  

I’ve always been drawn to calm people. Like a magnet, I feel a natural pull toward them. Thankfully, a few of these people have befriended me, advised me and encouraged me. Some of these folks I’ve found in prayer groups, contemplative workshops as well as in yoga studios. These are the types of environments where our bodies and minds can adjust to something other than the bedlam of modern day living. 

We do not have to be slaves to the world around us; rather we can learn to cultivate our calmness. It is imperative that we do otherwise we will forget how to be comfortable in silence, restful in anxious times and patient in a world full of endless demands. 

Why bother cultivating calmness? Maybe when someone is looking for their calm, they will notice it in you and then you can be the one to point them in the right direction.