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1-Page Summary of Stillness Is The Key
Overview
We are born without any belongings, and then start accumulating things. How many do we really need? A rich life is a life that’s full of people and experiences rather than knickknacks and expensive clothes. To keep our lives from being cluttered with unnecessary stuff, it would be helpful to fill up garbage bags with the excess items in our homes. This will help us make space for stillness in our minds as well as free ourselves from unimportant stuff.
It’s easy to get distracted by technology and social media. It’s even easier to just zone out or lose focus on what we’re doing. But when was the last time you took a moment and stopped everything? When was the last time you were truly present, thoughtful, and reflective?
Today’s world is very busy and distracting. It can be hard to find a moment of stillness, but it helps with clarity and creativity. Stillness also allows you to control your temper and appreciate the pleasures in life.
The key points show that stillness is not about inactivity. It’s about powerful moments and the ability to be calm while experiencing them, even when your life is hectic. Anyone can learn how to do this by focusing on their breathing and other techniques taught through meditation.
The White House gardener saved the world from nuclear destruction. He did this by working in his garden, which allowed him to think more clearly and perform better as a leader of the free world. Winston Churchill laid bricks that helped him lead England during World War II and win the war against Hitler. Napoleon’s notification settings were too noisy, which distracted him from leading France effectively.
Big Idea #1: In a world where there is constant noise and busyness, the key to peace, clarity and happiness is stillness.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman philosopher who lived in first century AD Rome. One day, he tried to work, but he couldn’t.
It wasn’t easy. Seneca lived in a noisy environment, where he could hear people grunting as they worked out and dogs barking in the streets below his room.
Seneca’s situation was not conducive to doing anything. He had lost favor with his patron, he was under threat financially and he was losing political power. In addition, Nero’s environment wasn’t a good place for deep thought or creativity. Many people today face the same problem as Seneca did because they are distracted by many things in their modern life like loud conversations on cell phones and planes overhead. So what can you do?
Seneca found peace in the midst of a busy, noisy world by embracing stillness. Stillness is an important part of life and it’s something that everyone knows when they experience it. For example, if you’ve ever been so focused on something that you get a burst of insight or have to concentrate really hard for a performance and then master it, those are examples of stillness. It can also be experienced through watching the sunrise in the morning and appreciating its beauty.
There is a state of stillness in which we are whole and complete. That’s why Seneca, the philosopher, could find peace even when he was surrounded by war. He believed that if people could find this inner peace, they would be able to think clearly and work well even if the world around them was chaotic. Seneca lived thousands of years ago; however, his teachings on finding peace have been influential throughout history. Philosophers as well as religions all over the world have embraced this idea through different names—for example: Buddhists refer to it as upekkhā or Islam calls it al-aslama while Christianity refers to it with aequanimitas.
