From “What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman” by Lerita Coleman Brown
There is a difference between feeling the stillness that we experience outside in nature and surrendering to the stillness within. Quieting our hearts and minds is far more challenging than we might think. To observe the serenity of a hawk in flight, clouds drifting across the sky, or trees gently swaying in a breeze is to enter one kind of stillness. Being intentional about sitting down, closing our eyes, breathing deeply, and slowly decluttering our minds of all the racing thoughts: that is a different – and a more difficult – matter. In his lovely meditation “How Good to Center Down,” Thurman says that “our minds seethe with endless traffic.” But he knew that below the distracting chatter lies a deep reservoir of stillness – a place emanating with a peace that passes understanding and is filled with undeniable joy. Thurman also provides ideas about how to quiet the mind: “Perhaps an image of a quiet, still place, or reading one of the Psalms or a ‘remembered radiance.’”
Going inward to connect with God generates an inner resolve. There we find strength to cope with the horrors of oppression or the pains and stresses of everyday life.