Recently, I have been thinking a lot about movement and stillness. There is a point in St. Josemaría’s The Way that frequently comes to mind. In this point he says:
Rush, rush, rush! Hustle and bustle! Feverish activity! The mad urge to dash about. Amazing material structures…
On the spiritual level…shams, illusions: flimsy back-drops, cheesecloth scenery, painted cardboard…Hustle and bustle! And a lot of people running hither and thither.
Is it because they work thinking only of “today”; their vision is limited to “the present” what has passed and what has yet to come.
Calmness. Peace. Intense life within you. Without that wild hurry. Without that mad urge for change. From your own place in in life, like a powerful generator of spiritual energy, you will give light and vigor to ever so many without loosing your own vitality and your own light.
- St. Josemaría Escriva, The Way #837
Yesterday, I toured Prince William Sound and marveled at land carved by glaciers. The glaciers are formed as snow continuously accumulates on the high elevations in the Alaskan mountains. The steady snowfall compacts forming ice that slowly moves shaping the land, feeding lakes and rivers. While most glaciers have been retreating since the last ice age, there area few glaciers actively advancing. Yesterday we visited one of these glaciers and witnessed a calving.
Calvings are dramatic displays of a subtle change that is constantly occurring within the glacier as it shapes the environment around it. The occurrence was a stark reminder that this seemingly stagnant slice of land is growing within nurtured by a slow and unwavering snowfall.
After the glacier tour we wove our way to small oasis near the harbor in Whittier. Here a fluid stream of crystal clear water nourishes the kittiwake birds. These birds added a layer of vivacious movement to an otherwise quiescent scene as their figures provided playful movement to the rock side. Occasionally, the entire flock would crescendo into harmonious dance.
After drinking in this movement for some time, I spotted a set of eagles perched on the rocks above. The stillness of their form contrasted greatly against the delicate and turbulent movement of the kittiwakes.
We all watched hoping one would soon take flight. After some time, our patience was rewarded as one of the eagles swept into the air to fly alongside the small birds dancing about. While I had my lens steadied on that magnificent bird, in that instant I was abruptly rocked by the movement of the boat. I was disheartened thinking I had lost the shot I had been preparing. And yet, when I examined the image closer I decided not all was lost. The moment I captured contained the genuine blurriness of movement. It is hard to see clearly while moving.
St. Josemaría constantly calls Christians to seek holiness within the circumstances Providence has placed them. He recognized that just as Christ called people from all walks of life to follow him, individuals are called to the heights of holiness within every situation. He teaches that each person’s activities fed by prayer and done well can revitalize any environment. Sometimes my work feels like the slow accumulation of snowfall, other times it has the energizing flitting of an aerial dance. I do not always have the perspective see beauty in this dance. Yet, there in the still moments of prayer, I see Christ correcting and redirection. It is in those moments I can see clear enough to trust that grace will see me through the obscurity of my next flurry of movement. Lord, grant me the grace to fly within the peace of your presence.
