What is a pause and what might it accomplish? During the holidays last year I let myself sink under the rush I was experiencing inside and out. It wasn't a forced pause, it was more of a letting myself do what the ancient wisdom in my body already knew. I read, played games, walked outdoors, letting myself go from “pressures". Post holidays I noted a re-organization had taken place in how I thought about certain aspects of my life, and how to go about them.
In craniosacral therapy we talk about “stillness”. The body quieting, coming to an intricate balance of introspection. I often feel this as a pause with a flavor of something at the edges. Sometimes an edge of retreat, finding safety in being still and far away. Or a quiet sense of deep rest. Or a deep sense of excitement and possibility: something percolating, a new way of being, a creative energy about to express. As a therapist I let this happen, staying at the edges, allowing the body to change itself.
I’ve learned the value of a pause in conversation. Instead of rushing to fill the gap, contain, or help: instead a pause, a breath, a glance, a touch. Letting be without hurrying to fix. Compassion gets a chance when we give space to let something simply be what it is. Change has a chance when not immediately forced to compensate.
I love feeling a pause by spending time in nature. Here is an ode to the land I inhabit:
“A hush comes from the land, trees enshrouded in mist. Quietness and anticipation, awe in my bones. Slowly the sun rises, meeting my eye in brilliance. Abashed, I turn. Unable to be with unrelenting clarity.
On mountains I am caught in the stillness of snow. A deep quiet emanating from stone and and trees and whiteness of mountain ranges, quietly in communication.
At sunset in the valley I pause, waist deep in grass. Nature bends to the west, peaceful in it’s quiet yearning.
I pause, and listen.”
Written by: Naomi Chuah, RCST BCST
Photo Credit: Nigel
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