There is a "stillness" in Ojai. When you walk the streets, it is quiet, you can hear the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, the creeking sounds from insects even in the day time. Many streets are lined with trees on both sides that rise so high they connect at the top to create a canopy. This stillness I refer is hard to describe. It is a quietness but it is not dead silence. It is alive. There's a quiet energy about it.
I first experienced this stillness a few days ago when Vehd and I took a sunset walk. It was just us, walking down a quiet street, listening to the sounds of dusk. The transitional time of day invited all kinds of living activity that simply enhanced the quietude we were experiencing. On that first occassion, I felt intrigued by this unique sense of quiet stillness. I did not make too much of it.
I felt it again today. As I dropped Vehd and Vamshi off for their visit to the Ojai Community Nursery School I realized I had an hour before my next appointment. I decided to go on a drive, to explore the land around the Ojai Foundation. The Ojai Foundation is a spiritual retreat center that explores teachings from all religions with a slightly greater emphasis on the Buddhist way of living. It fosters sustainable community living.
As I made my way through the Foundation's land (where I took the above picture), I noticed the stillness. It was present in the air, in the subtle movement of the leaves, in the sunshine that caressed my hair. I could feel it. This time I decided to play with it. I sat on a swing and swung myself. Then, I let go. I stopped swinging and closed my eyes to feel the swing come to a stand still. Have you ever done that? You know, let the swing slow down on its own. Until finally, it is almost completely still but you can't tell if it really is. It still feels like its moving but you can't tell because your eyes are closed.
That lingering stillness of the swing is what the stillness of Ojai feels like. Its right there, its quiet, its alive. You can feel it, you can't be too sure about it and so you cannot really describe it. It is real though and it is filling my days. I find it whenever I choose to pause on the many walks, in the sunshine, at sunset, by the fire, in the people and in the schools I am visiting.
This second picture from today was taken during a sunset walk that we took with our friend Michael and his baby son Maxwell.
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