Stillness

He leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul."  Psalm 23

The news sounding from the radio, streaming through my computer, and radiating from the television has been unendingly urgent this week--bombs exploding in Boston, tainted letters in Washington, and reasoned gun legislation thwarted in the Senate.  It really all seems too much...

In contrast, life this week here seems slower, less chaotic, quieter, more contemplative.  Perhaps it is because I am coming off spending two days with Yogini Kaliji last week, followed by an inspirational evening with writer Sandra Cisneros this week.  Even though each of these women walks a uniquely different path, they both share a common message, perhaps the common message of wisdom throughout the ages--live in the present, be aware of the divine presence, meditate, notice, see and seek the light, and step slowly on the path illuminated before you. 

This morning when I opened my devotional, the passage to read was the 23rd Psalm.  Gosh, I thought, what else is there to meditate upon in the 23rd Psalm....but then two words stopped me at a spot never noticed before. Still.  Waters.  Still waters is a place in the interior landscape of life and while quietude seems to run counter to the urgency of lives fueled by Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds, stillness and slowness are what ultimately do restore our souls.  Being lead beside still waters is a good place to be.