Stillness in Motion: Finding Peace on the Rails
A train journey is an open opportunity to see the world from a different window in a new way. Some of my favorite and most memorable travel experiences have been clunking along the Hudson River Line or gliding across European rails, catching glimpses of countryside while moving toward metropolitan destinations in the US and abroad.
I think fondly of boarding at Grand Central Station among the hustle and bustle of daily commuters and curious international travelers speaking in unfamiliar languages. Then comes the journey itself—riding "up" the Hudson River on crisp fall days toward Boston or on bright summer days heading to the Saratoga horse races. These trips offer space to dream, time to read, and quiet to think about—and through—the many matters weighing on the mind and heart.
One of life's beautiful oxymorons is stillness in motion. I find my deepest stillness during meditative walks, while engaged in creative practice, and when exploring corners of the world via travel—particularly on a moving train. Like nowhere else, on a train I discover a centeredness that creates space for creative expression, peace, and the emergence of new ideas. These moments of travel become powerfully energizing yet calming experiences, offering escape from the daily chaos that bombards us from every direction. They provide mental and emotional space to practice what my therapist calls "transmutation"—the process of acceptance and change.
The world has become so loud. In our contemporary, consumer-based society perpetually distracted by social media, stillness becomes almost prophetic, defying forces that demand we move quickly and constantly—to be plugged in 24/7. Pausing and being still can feel like a countercultural act! Yet space and stillness offer the creative respite that renews mind and body. Each of us must find our own time and develop our particular art of being quiet, whether in the hum of night, the hush of morning—or for me, a train journey into the unknown.
As Charles Lattimore Howard writes in Pond River Ocean Rain: "Inaction sometimes is the greatest action we can take. Stillness is sometimes the most important move we can make." I have come to believe, understand, and fully experience that only from that space of stillness can we create our best work—and thus our best life. It's also where we find and recognize our power.
Sometimes the waves of life rage so incessantly that it becomes difficult to see, feel, or even find truth and direction. As Oprah writes, "It proves once again that Glinda the Good Witch was right: 'You've always had the power.' You just have to be still to find it. And when you do, you're on the way to finding the fullest expression of you."
For all of us, be patient in practicing stillness. And meanwhile, wander far, ride long, and let the tracks lead you to adventure—and perhaps home to yourself.
