STAYING

I would like to learn to “stay” more often, to remain right where I am without wandering off to some other place or task. There’s something special, I think, about staying put. I sometimes think about the staying power of stones, the way they seem to easily persevere, just sticking to where they are for months and maybe years and centuries. The stones in our stone fence have stayed there for years, precisely where they were placed, and stones in fields and forests have been sitting in the same places -- maybe we might say peacefully -- for possibly eons. Perhaps I’ll try a little staying today. Maybe I can just leave myself somewhere and silently stay there. Maybe I can persist in being just where I am and just what I am, suspending all stirring and rushing and simply staying, a senior-citizen “stone” sitting in peace.