Stretch Affirmation 1 – I Take Time to Still Myself

​I take time to STILL myself.

​Daily Stretch Affirmation No. 1

We live in a world of non-stop motion.  During the ​day, fingers are moving across keyboards creating and sending messages around the world.  Cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles are moving over the countless miles of concrete, asphalt, dirt, and stone that make the roads we travel.  People are moving from one meeting to the next.  At night, families and individuals are moving from one activity to the next – soccer practice, scouts, grocery shopping, dinner, homework, and the list goes on and on and on.  We don’t stop until we collapse in bed at the end of the day hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before we do it all over again the next day.

​Wake up.  Move.  Move.  Move.  Move.  Move.  Collapse in bed.

We struggle to be still.

This is not good!

​Statistics show that anxiety and anxiety disorders are on the rise.  For example, a recent Stastista survey finds that 39% of adults surveyed are more anxious in 2018 than in 2017.  Obviously, there could be a number of reasons for these findings, but I would argue that our culture of busyness and constant motion contributes to the anxiety we feel.

​If there’s any question that these results are short-sighted, I’d encourage you to think about your own experience.   How do you spend your days?  How often to you stop?  How much time are you moving around (physically or mentally)?

​I’ve written about it here before.  I struggle with this.  I typically get up at 4AM every day.  I turn off the light around 10PM every night.  And I’m in constant motion between 4AM and 10PM.

​It’s not healthy to live this way.

It’s not the way we were meant to live.

There’s a better, more healthy way.

​Taking time to still yourself has three benefits that are sure to make your life better.

​3 Benefits of Being Still

​1.  Being still gives you the opportunity for rest, restoration, and relaxation.  We need these things.  I’ve heard people say they can rest and relax when they die.  This may (or may not) be true.  I would argue that we need

​2. Being still gives you the opportunity to deepen your relationships with others.  In our busyness, we typically spend little time going deep with the people in our pathways.  We ask people how they are doing, and we become satisfied with their “Good” answer.  We’re okay with this answer, because we’re trying to get to the next thing or our brains are occupied with other thoughts.

​3.  Being still gives you a proper perspective on God.  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10).”  When we are in constant motion, we leave little opportunity to connect with God, to contemplate God’s impact on our lives, and to develop an appropriate understanding of God.