The Hemingway Post: Finding stillness in the storm

Howdy,

The Hemingway Post has switched platforms from Substack to Beehiiv! This doesn’t affect you very much, except for the cool new color scheme. I’ll still be providing the same value every week, but now I have more features to play around with.

That’s enough of me talking; let’s dive into this week’s post.

This past Friday, I was getting some schoolwork done in my university library. With my headphones on playing music, I worked on an assignment for about an hour. When I finally looked up from my laptop, something cool happened…

A sense of stillness washed over me. My headphones were no longer playing music, no one else was in the library, and there was nothing to distract me. I wasn’t thinking about my work and I was fully present.

I sat there for a couple of minutes taking this moment in. The last time I felt so calm was… I don’t even remember. My mind was silent, my body still, and my breath even. Although this moment only lasted for about 5 minutes, it’s hard to forget the way I felt.

Before you call my story dumb, hear me out. I think there’s a lesson we can learn from this…

In 2023, life moves fast. Information is sent across the globe in a matter of seconds, making it easy to communicate. However, there are some downsides to the constant stream of information we’re receiving daily.

What are these downsides, you may ask?

The main one is that it clutters our minds and doesn’t leave room for silence. If our daily life is filled with thoughts about work, responsibilities, anxieties, regrets, and a thousand other things, there’s no time to sit and just chill. To stop thinking and just be.

My experience in the library shows this. I found that a moment of true peace without distractions was hard to come by. Ask yourself, “When was the last time my mind was truly calm?”

So we know that stillness is hard to come by nowadays, but is it possible to seek it out? To find stillness in the storm?

I would argue yes.

The main way I’ve done this in my life is through meditation. By focusing on my breath and letting my thoughts drift away, I’m able to enter a state of peace. No thoughts. No worries. No anxieties. Just me sitting in the moment.

I highly recommend starting this practice. There are many apps like Calm that provide guided meditations to help you along the way. If that's not your cup of tea, just sit down, close your eyes, and focus on your breath.

To start, just aim for two minutes a day. As you get better, you can go for longer or even do one session in the morning and another at night.

Another thing I found helpful is getting outside into nature. The moments I’m on a hike, in the ocean, or watching the sunset are the same moments where I feel a sense of calmness. Nature has the ability to ease our minds and let us just be.

However, this is also possible in simple moments like sitting in a library. By focusing on our senses, we can start to ignore our thoughts and fully enjoy the moment.

Hobbies are another great way to reach a state of peace. I’m sure you’ve heard athletes say something like, “When I’m on the field/court, all my thoughts drift away.” The same thing happens to me when I play soccer.

Even if you don’t play sports, other hobbies do the same thing. My personal favorite is surfing because it’s out in nature and it’s a fun hobby of mine. Find what works for you, and schedule time out of your week to do it.

In Ryan Holiday’s book, “Stillness is the Key,” he quotes a Zen proverb that says this:

“Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.”

To me, this proverb has three different meanings:

1. Internal changes don’t always reflect externally

2. It’s possible to enjoy the simplest things in life

3. If we can master our minds, we can live well

In my own life, I tend to focus on the third meaning the most. When my thoughts are pulling me in a thousand different directions, I repeat this phrase in my head: “Chop wood, carry water.”

By doing this, I’m able to calm my mind down and just focus on being. I imagine the repetition of chopping wood and the simplicity of carrying water over and over and over again. This way, I’m able to find stillness and not get overwhelmed by my own thoughts.

All in all, making time for stillness should be a necessity in all our lives. Sometimes, we need to put the phone down, turn the TV off, and just be alone. We should meditate, go outside into nature, and find different activities to create inner peace.

It helps us find beauty in the ordinary and gives us time to just be.

To send us home, here is the meme of the week:

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. Try implementing some of the things you’ve learned and see what works best for you.

Consider following my new Instagram account linked below for daily quotes, insight, and advice on personal growth. Also, share The Hemingway Post with friends and family if you find it valuable.

Lastly, I’m striving to provide more high-quality content every week with Beehiiv. There are a ton of features I’m still trying out, so bear with me!

Keep making progress. Keep driving forward. Change for the better.

See you next Monday,

Trevor