There is sometimes pain in the stillness and that can be a barrier to sitting quietly and turning inward. But the alternative, I’ve found, is being knocked around by thoughts the entire day. You must still do this. Oh, remember that. What if that doesn’t work out. Instead of being present with whatever I’m engaged in I get distracted by these constant internal interruptions.
Sometimes I just give up arguing with all the thoughts in my head and ask myself: What is truly important? As I go down the winding road of ideas, I inevitably always get to the same answer: being present.