The stillness of motion?
We are always so busy trying to get somewhere that we never consider that we could already be there or even where we want to be in the first place and if we do not know the answer plenty of other people will tell you where you should be. There is no stillness left in our lives, we are constantly doing, going to the next thing, following a carefully constructed timetable, a list of activities but there is no space to just sit and listen to ourselves without judgement, instead we all seem to be relentlessly pursuing missions that are dictated by others and our own expectations. We have become institutionalised to always being guided in everything we do from what job to do, how to spend our time productivity and even which road to take.
In ancient times when we drove we did not have the constant companionship of GPS and a friendly voice to tell us where to go and how long it is going to take to arrive at our destination. Instead we had maps and we had to study and understand them before we decided which way to go. A map for the younger generation was a piece of paper with images and symbols on it that represent the world, the colour of a line could change it's meaning from footpath to motorway (it was bad to confuse these), you had to understand it's code and how it represented reality, but what was important was that you had to pause before you left, you had to stop and consider what route you will going to take, this natural resting point allowed you to gather yourself for your journey, it was part of the procedure of travelling, you looked at the map, you visualise the journey and then you went.
There was a comfort in that routine, a moment of I know where I am going, you set your intention and then you travelled, you had an idea of the nature of the journey you will going to undertake. Compared to the convenience of just putting in the destination, being told that you will arrive in three hours and ten minutes, and listening to a voice who tells you what to do at every stage, it must seem like a lot of effort with the potential of going wrong at any moment and you would be absolutely right. I can not remember the last time I was lost when driving, I might not know where I am but I know where I am going, and in comparison getting lost was a pain but you certainly saw more of the world, odd corners, country road that were designed for tractors and beautiful parts of world where no-one went intentionally except dog walkers.
Whilst you were not calm or happy at being lost or not sure where you were, it meant more map glazing, you had to look around and compare reality and the map, you were forced to spot things, noticing the steeple of a church gave you a landmark to orient yourself as map makers love a church symbol for that reason, you had to take in the world around you and you were forced to stop, to enjoy a moment of stillness on your journey. Map reading was a skill that had value, and being able to do it under the pressure of being lost and often late was what mattered, it was no use getting fluttered, you were forced to be calm, to stop and take the time you needed.
A good travelling companion knew this and would give you the silence you need to concentrate, there was the ritual of turning down the radio as it was well know that music and singing interfered with your understanding of the miniature world of your map. Everything about the experience forced you to be still, to stop everything else and just inhabit that representation of the world as if it were real, you would try and merge the map and what you were actually seeing, there was a lot of turning of the map so that they were faced in the same direction and then there was the moment of clarity where you knew where you was again.
I have no desire to go back to this age, the new technology is wonderful, it is quick and efficient, it saves time and fuel, it knows routes that you would never of dreamed of taking, cross country lanes that take fifteen turns to navigate through and when only had a map you would take the simple route as each turn would require a stop to check the map (unless you had a navigator on board and it was joyful when you had a good one as the mission could be shared, another lost joy). The new is good, but we have lost the pleasure of stopping and gauge where you were and how far along you were, you were a vital part of the journey rather than a passenger, you were connected to your surrounding, you could notice things of interest and interesting diversions. It is not the same to just stop for coffee once on the journey at a service station, that is not stillness, you are doing things, you are active rushing from shop to toilet and trying not to spend too much time because you were told that your journey was going to take three hours and now you are behind.
Perhaps there is a take me to an interesting place on the way mode in satnavs I am unaware of, and I am not even sure if I would use it if there was, deliberately getting lost is missing the point, scheduled moments of stillness has it's place (I plan meditation moments into my day) but they are not the same as random moments of enforced stillness, they take you by surprised and happen at moment when you do not feel calm, they force you to be calm even when you are stressed, especially when you are stressed because being lost is stressful, it is not a nature state (there was a time before industrialisation when you knew all of your territory, you always knew where you were, you never need a map). What I am really seeking is that enforcement of stillness, a way to force myself to practise stillness at the times when I need it most, a map for our lives that we are able to consult when we are lost in time rather than space, I want that habit and ritual of reading a map when I do not know where I am.
That is the stillness I want in my life, the contrast with the motion of always moving forwards in life, moments of stillness that make my forward motion more stark, and it only with contrast that we can truly gauge our progress. It is by introducing stillness that we can appreciate how fast we are moving and how good that feels, we need both points of stillness and motion between them, to do and then reflect on what we have done and where we want to go, an act of reorientation, looking at our map and figuring out where we are going and where we are now. There no more powerful question than asking what do we want? It is the only map that is available for life itself, it is a question for those moment of stillness that we can take for ourselves in this chaotic and ever changing world, we might not get the same answer every time, there is a difference between short term and long term wants. However by constantly asking the questions we have a chance to figure out where we actually want to go, and that is only open to us by taking moments of stillness in a world of motion.
