Rebecca Solnit Quotes

You don't always have to be doing something. You can just be, and that's plenty.

As you walk, you simply walk. Don't go ahead, don't jump here and there. Mind always go ahead or lag behind. Remain with the moment.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world.

It's a wonderful thing to perceive the world and to interact with it and with other people and nature from that deep place of utter stillness, where the compulsion to immediately label and interpret whatever arises around you is no longer there.

Truth comes when your mind and heart are purged of all sense of striving and you are no longer trying to become somebody; it is there when the mind is very quiet, listening timelessly to everything.

In an age of speed, I began to think nothing could be more exhilarating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

I think we all get too caught up in doing instead of just being sometimes.

We live in such a noisy world that we need to stop and just let things happen. Let it grow.

Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.

Walking is a meditative act. It's so rare that we allow ourselves just to be.

Savasana is the easiest and most important yoga move because it's so simple. Lying there is meditative.

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?

When you wash your hands, when you make a cup of coffee, when you're waiting for the elevator - instead of indulging in thinking, these are all opportunities for being there as a still, alert presence.

One of the best things to do sometimes is simply to be.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

Unending joy is actually closer to us than our own skin, and there is nothing we have to do or get or be to experience it. All we have to do is stop driving it away.

I don't look ahead. I'm right here with you. It's a good way to be.

It's all about balance and, I think, being in the moment.

There are certain ways in which I cultivate awareness, both through mindful yoga and taking care of my body and taking time to actually drop as deeply as possible into stillness, into whatever is unfolding in the present moment.

Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.

I look at what's in front of me. I concentrate on that and then hopefully move on.

Before you find a way to channel your emotional energy, you must take time to be still and actually feel. Meditation is a simple tool for becoming present.

I try to take each moment at a time.

I try to not to overanalyze, not to watch myself too much, but to be present in life and in my art. I'm so glad it comes off in that way.

I'm quite a simple person really; I love pottering about, walking and swimming.