In the Midst of the Dance

Still Point

“Except for the point, the still point,

There would be no dance,

And there is only the dance.”

T. S. Eliot (from The Waste Land)

           I don’t know about you, but “still” is something that’s alien to me. Most of us, myself included, rise in the morning, put our foot on the accelerator, and go. We don’t stop until the last light goes out at bedtime. Do you stop to consider your day while it’s happening? Do you spend time before you fall asleep recounting the day? Is there a still point at which you stop long enough to decipher meaning?

          I am trying to learn how to be still, and it’s a struggle. One of the ways my accelerator-life reveals itself is when I need to name one of my fabric creations. They may take weeks to make. I keep at it as-long-as it takes, immersed in the intuitive process, allowing the image to emerge from the fabrics themselves. But when it comes to giving the piece a title, I am often at a loss. Then, I send a photo to my son, Jake, who is also an artist, or to my friend, Anna, a deeply intuitive person, and ask, “What would you call this?” Their feedback is always helpful.

          The final naming usually happens in liminal space—often between waking and sleeping—when my mind wakes, but my body still slumbers. A still point, when the intuitive mind speaks louder than the thinking mind. It feels as though the piece names itself if I can stop long enough to listen.

          The dance is important. We know the steps because we make them every day. But unless we find the still point, we will only skim the surface of our time here, and that would be a shame. It is the still point that allows us to dive a little deeper; to ponder the meaning of what we say and do. It encourages us to plumb the depths, so to speak; to identify the “why” of our existence. Without that moment of stillness, we only know the ocean’s surface, interesting enough in its own right. But the still point provides a view of the abundant life that lies beneath the waves.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane