We Have to Learn to Stop

Better yet - we need to stop.

When you’re young and on fire, what do they tell you? Stop, drop, and roll.

The first thing they say is Stop. And then, drop and roll. First - Stop.

When you’re learning how to cross the street, they say, Stop and look both ways.

The same is true about our life in any tough or even beautiful situation - Stop, look, listen.

More often than not, the thing to do is to not do anything. In order to do something, we have to learn how to do nothing. In order to be receptive to what the moment needs and requires, we must learn how to stop and extend our antenna, and then we have to tune in.

This is not in our conditioning as a society, we are taught to go go go. Fix the problem, solve the issue, book the job, get the good news, and then go immediately to the next job and the next good news. Can we just stop at any point. Can you stop?

Stop and start fresh. Ask yourself what is actually happening right now?

Stop and notice what is happening right now.

You can’t force a realization and you can’t force a solution, you can’t go back to some sort of normal, you can’t go back to anything, there is no normal to get back to. You can’t go back to anything. You can only go forward. That is life, you can only go forward. The only thing is whatever is happening. It’s not about what should be, it’s about what is. You’ll never fix a thing because by the time you get there, it’ll only be whatever it is. We have to learn to stop.

What matters is what it is, what we are confronted with this very moment. Whether I like it or not is besides the point. I have to start by accepting what is currently happening and go from there.

The way forward will present itself without force.

If we stop, then we can actually connect and with that connecting point, magic happens, healing happens, people transform. We transform. But first, we must stop.

If you found some medicine here, consider buying me a coffee and/or supporting me for just $2.75!

ps. Sharing me chatting all things meditation on a beautiful podcast called, Zen Commuter - a bonus episode featuring me as the guest - we talk about meditation, presence, and what it means to live a mindful life in the middle of chaos. As an avid meditator and Dharma practitioner, I wanted to share this conversation with the Substack community. We get into sitting with discomfort, turning awareness into action, and remembering that peace isn’t a destination, it’s a daily practice. If you’ve ever wondered how meditation shows up in my creative life, or how I balance the noise of the world with the stillness of the cushion — this one’s for you.

pps. Now’s a perfect time to buy a copy of Brown Enough in Paperback (one for you, one for the homie, one for the neighborhood library) and listen to Season 3 of the podcast!