Leonard Cohen and the Art of Stillness: Pico Iyer on How to Fall in Love with the World | Brain Pickings

For a change.

Some good observations about stepping back from the world in order to understand it:

Not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays it’s often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize. Stillness is not just an indulgence for those with enough resources — it’s a necessity for anyone who wishes to gather less visible resources. Going nowhere, as Cohen had shown me, is not about austerity so much as about coming closer to one’s senses.

…Going nowhere … isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply.

Leonard Cohen and the Art of Stillness: Pico Iyer on How to Fall in Love with the World | Brain Pickings.