"Don't Just Do Something, Sit There"

I read these pages* and smiled, scribbling his initial in the margin. They had made me think of my brother, Jared.

Ha. I remember when I was on shaky ground—raging, spiralling into anxiety with no end in sight—and he shared what he knew about buddhism (again and again and again). He started with just crumbs, which I could barely digest in the beginning. And I remember being surprised that he knew all this stuff. He does this work quietly. As my appetite grew, he shared more, talking, listening and lending me his copious notes from his readings. 

Practicing inaction is what I have come to value in others. It is also a huge part of my regimen. I stroll, write, draw, process, rest, chat, observe. Purging, letting go, detaching, slowing down, disconnecting, grieving, simplifying—these are some of my most cherished tools for good health.  

Emily Dickinson said it best: “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”

*From How To Sit by Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a buddhist monk, a peace activist, and an author who keeps my feet on the ground. I routinely open his books at any page and read, sometimes mid-paragraph. His book, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, is one I hold especially dear.