Return to stillness

In chapter 16 of the Dao De Jing, Laozi calls us to "attain utmost emptiness, hold fast to stillness": letting agitation settle the way murky sediment sinks back down in still water, until things come clear. This exercise is a short daily time of quieting, in which you seek nothing and stop stirring your thoughts. Today, in the middle of a crowded day, it offers a point of return to oneself that sharpens the gaze and steadies the decision.