Places

Life is elsewhere

In this series of reflections, writers, artists, and travellers contemplate motion and stillness in the time of restricted movement

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 05 Dec 2020 12:00PM

Life is elsewhere
Penang-based writer Marc de Faoite. – Pic courtesy of Marc de Faoite, December 5, 2020

by Marc de Faoite

FOR years I travelled in quest of peace and quiet, away from the throng, just myself and my backpack on half-forgotten mountain trails. I found quiet in physical exhaustion, a certain peace in the contemplation of the landscapes I had crossed and those that still stretched out ahead. But these states were transitory. No matter how serene the scenery, I was still plagued by a cacophonous jumble of noise inside my own head. I took to travelling to meditation retreats, seeking stillness behind my eyelids in the solitude of monasteries and temples. I sat immobile and studied my breath as it flowed in and out, for hours, for days, for weeks. Now I sit on the floor at home instead, both by choice and necessity.

Like the breath, stillness comes and it goes, transitory. But life is elsewhere.  – The Vibes, December 5, 2020

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