To Find Peace, Sit Still

I visited the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. When I entered the museum, I immediately saw big colorful words on the walls and ceiling of the lower floor. I took the escalator down to see more. It was an exhibit entitled “Belief + Doubt,” by Barbara Kruger. My attention was then captured by a young art student who had put her notebook down on the floor, sat down and was silently absorbing all the big words around her. The museum had just opened and there was no one else around. I would have loved to know what she was thinking. I did not want to disturb her quiet contemplation. I slipped off in a different direction.

The curator for this exhibit says this artist, who has devoted the last two decades to surrounding her viewers with language, wanted to introduce doubt to the public dialogue and surround the viewer with open-ended questions. The curator concluded, “At once addressing the individual, the museum, and, symbolically, the country, her penetrating examination of the public sphere transforms one of Hirshhorn's key public spaces.”

In this time when attention is splintered in myriad directions, I was surprised to see the young artist’s attention was focused. There are times when I wonder if I am still capable of giving my complete and focused attention to something or someone.

Chris Hayes, the thoughtful MSNBC host and commentator, wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times on Jan. 3, 2025. In it, he says:

From my perspective as both an attention merchant and a compulsive customer, it’s clear that the difficulty of sitting in one’s “own chamber” – as the philosopher Blaise Pascal described the freedom to sit undisturbed with one’s thoughts – is greatly exacerbated by the form of attention capitalism we are enmeshed in.

I dislike the thought that my attention is a commodity for which prevailing forces compete. I had to be honest with myself. How often do I reach for my phone to scroll while waiting in line somewhere? And if I look around, how many others are doing the same thing? Am I able to sit quietly by myself? As an artist, if I lose my ability to notice subtle changes in light and color, how will I convey my artistic vision?

It is common to think of doing nothing as a waste of time, rather than as a fruitful field for contemplation. When I was small, my mom said I used to sit on our staircase by myself. My mother would call, “Linda, what are you doing?” “Just thinking, Momma,” I replied. This amused her. I guess it was an omen of things to come for me.

We blame the availability of devices with fast technology for the fracturing of our attention. Does the responsibility rest in technology or in us? Have I distracted myself from a difficult day by watching funny cat videos? Absolutely. Brief respites from our mental treadmills are important, even necessary.

There is renewed interest in the age-old practice of meditation to center oneself and quiet one’s mind. The beauty of the simplicity of focusing on one’s breath to quiet the mind almost seems too good to be true. Of course, there are apps for that!

Chris Hayes concludes:

The problem we face is not situational; it is existential and spiritual. We cannot escape our own mind; it follows us wherever we go. We can’t outrun the treadmill. Our only hope at peace is to force ourselves to step off whenever we can. To learn again to be still.

To learn to be still, many have turned to the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh. In his book, “The Art of Living,” he writes:

“You do have the capacity to experience stillness. For many of us, when we sit still, we are so restless, it feels like we are sitting on burning coals. With some practice, you will be able to train your restless body and mind to sit in peace. As soon as there is ease and relaxation, there is healing and well-being ….​Just sitting down and doing nothing is an art, the art of non-doing ….​Sitting meditation is an act of civilization. To take a moment to sit in stillness and cultivate peace, joy and compassion - that is civilization. It is priceless ….​You are happy to be aware that you are sitting on a very beautiful planet, revolving in a galaxy of stars.”

 My hope for you in the new year is that you will have the peace to glimpse your place in a revolving galaxy of stars.