I have decided to do something a bit different for this article by using poetry as a backdrop to arouse your creative energies and imagination..jpg)
The poem - one of my favorites - is a gem by T.S. Eliot from his Excerpts for Meditation from East Coker (no. 2 of Four Quartets).
His words are a reflection upon what he sees as a necessary frame of mind, or adaptation of energy, for times when we want something that is not immediately forthcoming, in other words: How to have patience – when you don’t have any!
Sitting With A Problem
Having practiced Focusing for over 20 years, I know that there are times, when sitting quietly with an issue or problem and listening deeply to the felt-sense of our experience, something emerges…an insight, a revelation, a new way of seeing things that sometimes shifts the problem into new realities.
At other times, the issue or problem doesn’t change at all, but rather what shifts is our perception or relationship to the problem.
Then there are times when nothing seems to reveal itself. No matter how hard we try, wish, plead, or beg, the answers to our questions, or desire for something to alter or manifest differently, does not seem to appear in any form: no words, no images, no feelings - nothing.
In those circumstances another kind of alternative is needed: a gentle attitude of waiting, or holding a state of openness with a willingness not-to-know (clearly a state of mind that is “easier said than done”).
Most of us get impatient when we want something that doesn’t come immanently, and we’ve probably all experienced the frustration and angst that occurs when what we want to know fails to reveal itself (on our timeline!)
Surrendering
On those occasions, in exasperation, we often give up, so called ‘throwing in the towel’. In more spiritual terms this giving up is called ‘surrendering’ – meaning an authentic letting go - because no answers are forthcoming.
Curiously, in that moment when we genuinely surrender, seemingly out-of-the-blue and quite miraculously, an insight comes - perhaps in a dream, maybe in a waking state, or in the process of a Focusing session or a meditation experience.
Although the sensation is thrilling, and we feel grateful, we also know that we have no control over when insights or intuitions make their presence felt.
We are living in turbulent times in human history, and have many questions about how, why, and what to do differently. So, for your reflection, here is T.S. Eliot’s quite brilliant poem – brilliant in both its simplicity and its message. First, enjoy it in its entirety, after which I shall make a few comments upon the various lines. I sincerely hope that the words below serve as a guide on the journey toward peace – inside and out.
I said to my soul – be still
And wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.
Wait, without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing.
There is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope
Are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought
For you are not ready for thought.
So the darkness shall be the light
And the stillness, the dancing.
I said to my soul – be still. There is a tremendous power in being still. The process of taking some quiet time each day to reflect in silence is a joy for the inquiring soul.
And wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing.
There are times when we know exactly what we want. There are other times when the old adage, “Don’t wish for anything too hard – it may come to you”, serves as a profound warning that maybe this particular moment is not the right time to hope for anything.
Wait, without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing.
We hold the stillness - waiting, watching, and consciously not wanting anything. Focusing teaches us about sitting with and making friends with the unknown.
But the faith and the love and the hope
Are all in the waiting.
We sit at times with a knowing-sense that there is more – but we don’t yet know what that ‘more’ is. We watch – for images, words, feelings, that reveal a ‘something new’, but never with an agenda. The process of silently waiting indeed requires faith.
Wait without thought
For you are not ready for thought.
I believe there is a difference between everyday thinking and planning, and holding a contemplative state in which more profound thoughts can reveal themselves. However, the process involves first being thought-less, so that the interior space is open for something new and not yet known to emerge.
A new message from a state of presence often feels like an epiphany. That is the good news. However, when nothing wants to come, we need to remember to “wait without thought” for the time may not be propitious to receive anything – at the moment.
So the darkness shall be the light
And the stillness, the dancing.
A final thought about timing. There are two well-known axioms that are worth reflecting upon: “There is a time and season for all things” and “There is a time and place for everything”.
Attunement is the intuitive ability to sense right timing: knowing when to move forward, when to wait in silence, and when to grasp the magic moment because the ‘timing’ is right.
Developing the virtue of patience is not an easy task, but one worth cultivating. Sometimes things do change, but not on our preferred timetable. Knowing how to ‘wait’ for the right time (timing) is a skill that transforms into a blessing – worth waiting for!