Be Still And Know: An Exercise of Peaceful Mind

I am seeing an upswing of people, generally, just having a hard time managing their mental health and peace of mind amidst the dumpster fire going on in America and around the world. It IS overwhelming, especially if you watch the news for longer than five minutes. There is also nothing that is a panacea to resist this. No one thing, at least.

I find myself dealing with this too. Some weeks I do better than others. As a Black man, there’s additional levels of micro-aggression and oppression I often have to deal with. But this larger-scale aggravation and all the micro and macro-aggressions I see happening around it are enough to topple anyone’s mind—if we let them.

I do not have a profound answer to this. But I can share a small thing that has a big impact, for me. In my home church, before we get deeper into worship, the church starts with what I call a centering moment. The intro music dies down. The pastor gets up and she invites us to worship. Then a bell is rung and things get very quiet. Then Pastor gets up and leads us through these words from Psalm 46, in the way I have written them. Each line is followed by a few seconds of silence as follows:

Be still and know God is God

Be still and know God is

Be still and know

Be still

Be.

When I hear these words, when I say these words, in church or outside of it, it shifts my mind and spirit. It tells me that, despite the dumpster fire, despite the micro-aggressions, I am held by Something That Holds All of It. It was Howard Thurman who taught me the truth of this. It’s not the muscular arm of the Lord that gives me comfort. It is knowing and being reminded that God holds all experience, and in that way, is above it. This gives me the strength to keep going, and maybe it will for you too.