Why stillness might be exactly what our minds and bodies need
Let’s just imagine, for one day, the phone in your hand became lifeless.
I think the average person’s heart rate would increase. They’d feel anxious…maybe even a little panicked. And standing in something as simple as a grocery store line, they wouldn’t know what to do.
That first instinct would be: I can’t just stand here! Because just standing there? That would feel…
Boring.
I wonder if you took it a step further, and gave it a week. I wonder what would actually happen?
Maybe people would start to:
– stare into space and actually think
– talk to the person next to them
– process something they’ve been avoiding
– notice something right in front of them they’ve never seen before
Do you think fifty years ago, someone standing in a grocery store line would have said,
“I’m bored”; Or that they lived a boring life? Probably not.
People (I was one of them) were used to space that wasn’t constantly filled. It was just the way it was.
There’s a line I heard years ago that stuck with me:
“Boring people are bored.”
I don’t really like the word “bored.”
But I now understand what it was getting at: Not filling every moment and leaving space for just thinking and being.
This simple line shaped the way I raised my daughter. If she ever wasn’t sure what to do, I did not hand her a screen or turn something on as a knee-jerk reaction. I would merely say,
“Go find something to create; imagine something; build something…or read!”
I think we all need to do this, and if I’m honest, I haven’t always done that for myself.
But lately I have been forced to sit in stillness. This has made me wonder what that has done to our health and whether all of this constant, distracted time we fill 24/7 has contributed to it.
Not just mentally…
but physically.
I learned the hard way that our bodies don’t separate those two systems, and our thoughts (usually negative) or lack thereof can make us more stressed. This in turn can affect our digestion. When there is no pause…no stillness…no space…our system never really settles.
Our gut, especially, is deeply connected to that. Another thing I learned the hard way is that it responds to stress; it responds to constant input, and it responds to nonstop activity. And not in a good way.
It’s not just about the foods we eat or avoid; it’s about how we live.
When something feels off in the gut, it’s somewhat like a dashboard of a car. It’s a warning light. It’s information that something needs attention. The key is tuning in to what it could be. Perhaps it’s our constant need to fill every quiet moment. Our bodies might be telling us this all along.
I do believe people are craving true nourishment. Not just from good food but from real connections in real time. Real experiences with real people. That might be what our guts are trying to tell us. Slow down. Smell the roses. Enjoy real food. Be still.
Maybe it’s not boredom we’ve been trying to avoid. Being still may be more of the challenge. But stillness shouldn’t be something we escape; it could be what we have been missing. As I’ve navigated healing, I’ve learned to embrace the room to think, the room to notice and observe. It’s not always comfortable, but it feels better than filling up with mindless distractions.
And if I’m honest, part of healing can feel…boring.
It’s slower, less stimulating, and not filled with constant distraction.
I think God had a point when He said, “Be still and know that I am God.”
If we could just follow the first two words, perhaps our minds and bodies would have what they need.
Because when we never allow ourselves to be still…when we never allow space…
our systems stay in a constant state of activity.
And I can’t help but wonder if part of what we’re seeing today like the increase in stress, digestive issues, and nervous system support needs isn’t just about what we eat or what we aren’t taking. Perhaps it’s about the fact that we’ve lost the ability to simply be.
And maybe that’s what we’re learning again. Not how to do more…
but how to be still.