The Ebb and Flow of Stillness

I walk outside to see the first light. The sky is awash in soft, delicate colors. The ocean is too and the sand is off-white. Unsaturated hues combine for a neutral effect. 

I notice the visual beauty first, but next hear the consistent roll of a gentle tide. I feel the rhythm. The ocean is calm here. Terrible for surfing, but lovely for snorkeling and swimming and searching. 

I walk ankle-deep in the water looking for treasures washed in by the tide: tiny shells, pieces of coral and sea glass. I want to take a bit of the beach home. 

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But what exactly do I hope to find and keep? Calm, consistency, ebb and flow?

I read once that the sights and sounds of the ocean are easy for the brain to process, They give the senses a break from overstimulation. They create a soft focus. 

The phrases sound like meditation or mindfulness practice. 

I’m home from the beach now, back to winter. It’s like walking in an Ansel Adams photograph. Colorless, bare trees, tall pines, snow on the ground. Sharp focus, full tonal range.

Inconsistent sounds: wind against the house, air blowing from the heater, the sound of a car. 

Yesterday in my office with snow coming down, I struggled to write. I browsed some essays I’d started. The one at the ocean seemed right. I added to it.

Between writing and preparing for a young women’s activity, I noticed Russell M. Nelson’s Instagram post.

I invite you to think deeply and often about this key question: How do you hear Him? I also invite you to take steps to hear Him better and more often.

Russell M. Nelson

How do I hear Him? 

How can I hear Him better and more often?

I’ve considered these questions. I’ve worked to recognize His voice in my life. 

Sometimes His voice is a thought or an idea or recognition of truth. Sometimes repeated impressions, a feeling that comes from music. Sometimes a thing just feels right. It’s nearly always small.

I remember how I felt at the ocean at sunrise. The inner stillness. Is stillness a key?

I think back on times I’ve heard His voice.

It may be when I’m at rest, between sleep and wakefulness. Or I may be walking, but my mind has a soft focus.

It may be stillness around me, like at the ocean, anywhere in nature or in the temple. Stillness in scripture or prayer.

It may come after action. When I step into darkness. If the path is right, it illuminates. Like what I felt creating this blog.

Once, when she had a unique perspective, my mom shared her wisdom. She told me to sit still. Take some time to be still every day.

Most days I do. It centers me. It helps me hear Him.

Stillness. It’s what I want to find. And keep.