Stillness in Nature

Thus far, Chapter 7 of Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle has resonated the most with me. The chapter is about nature and the stillness it has the ability to teach us. I think the reason why I appreciated these few pages is because I have had the luxury and pleasure of letting nature teach me some of the most valuable lessons in my life so far.

“You reconnect with nature in the most intimate and powerful way by becoming aware of your breathing and learning to hold your attention there. This is a healing and deeply empowering thing to do. It brings about a shift in consciousness from the conceptual world of thought to the inner realm of unconditioned consciousness.” (83)

I have always been an advocate for spending time outdoors. Not only are you enthralled by the world’s beauty; you also have the ability to cleanse stress, fear and anxiety you are holding within. One could say, it is free therapy. I have had the luxury of hiking through the Appalachian Mountains, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, walking the Camino di Santiago and many other outdoor excursions. I would like to briefly share my story about my time on Mount Kilimanjaro because as the chapter explains, “Nature can bring you stillness. That is its gift to you. When you perceive and join with nature in the field in stillness, that field becomes permeated with your awareness. That is your gift to nature.” (86)

I remember the excitement I had telling people back home that I was going to hike the highest mountain in Africa. Little did I know, it would become one of my greatest achievements. I had the pleasure of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with two very good friends and two guides. As a group of 5, you would think we would have plenty to talk about with 4 days ascending and 2 days descending. Well, the truth is, the majority of the time spent walking up the mountain was in silence. Of course the first few hours of the trip are filled with excitement and talking, but when the honeymoon phase passes, you are left with yourself among a vast and lush landscape. Your guides and friends are still climbing with you, but as time passes, you begin to become aware of the beauty that surrounds you.

Prior to my trek, I had just completed a genocide and reconciliation program in Rwanda, completed my first year in graduate school and had lived through one of the most chaotic years of my life. I knew I had so much to think about and 7-hour hikes a day would be just what I needed to reflect on everything. While my first few hours of silence were filled with the inner battles between my mind, heart, body and soul, I began to let go of what I thought I had to hold within. I began to surrender to the now. As I looked out into the most beautiful sites I had ever seen in my life, the problems, issues and thoughts I held within began to go right through me. It was as though I was a vessel for the feelings and emotions associated to my thoughts. When I let go of trying to figure out the past and my future, I began to feel inner peace and stillness like I never had before. I remember Day 3 of our ascent. I turned to one of my friend’s and said, you know what, I don’t feel anxiety or stress about my thoughts or losses anymore. I thought to myself, there is no need to own something that is no longer in my present. Of course, we make mistakes, we fall and we fail. But the greatest gift we can give ourselves is to forgive, get back up and live in the Now. 

Eckhart Tolle explains the following: “When walking or resting in nature, honor that realm by being fully there. Be still. Look. Listen. See how every animal and every plant is completely itself. Unlike humans, they have not split themselves in two. They do not live through mental images of themselves so they do not need to be concerned with trying to protect and enhance those images. “ (79) Looking back, I noticed that when I hiked without trying to figure out who I was and who I was going to be, I began to appreciate the present. I became aware of the moment I was in. The only person I was at that moment was the person who was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I learned to surrender to the present. When I tell this story, I try to explain how I felt by using the metaphor of the “runner’s high”. You get to a point that you are so present in what you are doing; it feels like you could live in that state forever. It is breathtaking and refreshing.

When I arrived to Uhuru Peak, I felt as though the world had stopped for me to really take a look at how powerful nature truly is, and I mean all of nature, including us. We are part of nature. We are one with nature. And when we come to realize that, we begin to transform our minds into conscious and aware entities. Uhuru means freedom in Swahili. The freedom I gained was releasing myself from the burden of my thoughts of the past and fears of the future. I could not hold either in my hands. The only thing I could hold was the present moment.

Nature is one of our greatest gifts. It is generous and abundant in all ways, all the time. The best part is that it is so accessible. Get up and go for that walk. Go sit in that park. Go hike that mountain. And remember; be present in what you are doing. Learn from the beauty that surrounds you. You come to realize that you are as powerfully capable of living the Now as nature has done since the beginning of time. And that my friends, is some pretty powerful stuff.