god forbade...must reading

Retreat

     Periods of retreat are important. Quietness and stillness allow the mental noise inside of us to fade away, and help us to come back to ourselves. After weeks of frantic rushing and chasing, we step off the fast-moving train of time and return to the present. Our energy regenerates, and we feel a sense of wholeness, a glow of well-being. At the same time, there is a feeling of rootedness, of being so grounded and stable that the normal stresses and slights of everyday life don't affect us to the same degree.

    Quietness is a source of creativity. Without regular periods of withdrawal and relaxation, creativity dries up. Stillness makes the mind fertile, like a river running over a plain, enabling ideas and inspirations to shoot up. They seem to come from nowhere, as if we've connected to some great cosmic reservoir which, if the conditions are right, channels into our own individual minds.

    At this time of year nature is in retreat. All things have withdrawn into darkness, and are slowly regenerating. That's why the winter solstice is so significant . Because after weeks of increasing darkness, the earth is starting to collect itself again, to gather its energies, in readiness for the explosion of creativity of life in spring.



    If that's what the rest of nature is doing, maybe we should do it too.

Steve Taylor

in Out of the Darkness

Psychology Today