From stillness to creation: A deeper way to relate to ourselves

By Anahita Mehrdoust January 14th 2026

In the rush of daily life, it’s easy to forget what already exists within. There is a rhythm in stepping back, in noticing our breath, our heartbeat, our thoughts. Stillness can become a space where feelings are allowed to exist and the pressure of “to do” softens. But how would our day change if we allowed this stillness to guide us?

Understanding stillness

Imagine the quiet before the day begins. Light slips through the curtains softly and rests quietly on the walls. You stand in the kitchen with a warm cup in your hands. Warmth flows through your hands, moving softly within each finger. Without thinking, your fingers begin to shift gently around the cup, one by one, as if playing a quiet melody, letting the warmth travel. Steam comes off the cup and disappears after a short dance in the air. The aroma reaches you from the cup, and you breathe it in. Sounds are distant and muted, leaving space for silence to settle fully. Your shoulders release, your chest softens, and a calm spreads through your body. You are just being present. Take a deep breath and sense. How do you feel in this moment? What do you notice inside? How does your body feel? 

This is stillness. The moment when the drink in your cup finally settles after being in motion. At first, it ripples, reflections broken, nothing quite clear. Then it calms. What was already there becomes visible again. Stillness is this quiet return where nothing needs to be solved or improved. Where thoughts and emotions can pass like clouds without being chased. From this quiet, the day doesn’t rush in; instead, it arrives with a gentle clarity. What comes next doesn’t arrive from tension or urgency; it is grounded in clarity that was waiting below the noise all along.

Embracing emotions without fixing

There is a warming space in stillness. The mind begins to stretch out and slow down, like a river that has just passed a waterfall, still flowing, still moving, but calmer as it drifts away from the rush. In this flow, emotions can be observed and felt without needing to be changed.

Within these quiet moments, we will see that emotions aren’t problems to be solved. They are signals and guides that show what matters most. Giving them space allows us to act with clarity instead of reacting out of tension or habit. Through this, we can stay calm in our emotions instead of immediately trying to fix discomfort. A tight chest, a restless mind, a racing heartbeat. In this moment, we allow ourselves to feel these states, when our bodies and minds can release tension naturally. Calm arises when the urge to “fix” fades into the background. This doesn’t mean inaction, it changes the quality of action. When emotions are honored rather than pushed aside, our choices and steps arise from a grounded, intentional place. By pausing and observing, we can allow clarity and self-awareness to guide what comes next.

In this calm presence, emotions are no longer tangled with noise, tasks, or pressure. They become distinct signals we can notice without judgment. Imagine holding that warm cup in the quiet morning. Whether it’s tension, anxiety, excitement, or joy, the sensations in your body, the tightness in your shoulders, the flutter in your stomach, or the warmth spreading through your hands. All of it can be felt fully. The feelings are allowed to exist, clear and present, without needing to be fixed or pushed away.

Creation and stillness

Creation doesn’t begin with effort or force. It begins in stillness. When the body and mind settle, ideas and intentions become clearer and more honest. From a stillness perspective, creation feels less like pushing forward and more like responding to what is already present. 

Stillness creates the conditions in which true creation becomes possible. When the mind is constantly occupied, attention is scattered, and energy is spent reacting rather than acting. In moments of stillness, the noise settles, and perception sharpens. We begin to notice subtle connections and ideas that were previously drowned out by urgency. Creation that emerges from this space reflects a deeper understanding of what is needed rather than what is expected. Stillness allows ideas to mature before they are acted upon and gives them depth and direction. What we bring into the world carries more integrity when it originates from a grounded state. By returning to stillness, we create not only better outcomes but a healthier relationship with the act of creating itself, one that supports focus, meaning, and long-term growth.

Creation often begins with the pause that stillness rewards us. Think again of the warm cup in your hands. You stand with it before taking the first sip. There’s a brief pause. You notice the scent, the warmth against your fingers, the slight anticipation. That pause changes the experience. You don’t rush the taste; you meet it. Creation works the same way. The next step is chosen, not forced.

How to carry stillness forward in our daily life:

Stillness doesn’t belong only to quiet mornings or special moments. It can move with us into daily life, woven into ordinary situations. It might show up as a pause before responding in a conversation, a breath taken before opening a new task, or a brief moment of noticing how the body feels while standing, walking, or waiting. Stillness doesn’t require withdrawal from life; it asks for a different quality of attention within it. Even small pauses can reconnect us to that place we touched earlier.

Adopting stillness is less about doing something new and more about remembering something familiar. When we allow moments of awareness throughout the day, we begin to act from presence rather than momentum. Choices feel less reactive, emotions feel more manageable, and creation feels more aligned. When we learn to recognize stillness within ourselves, it becomes a quiet companion, shaping not only what we do, but how we move through the world.