THE ART OF STILLNESS BOOK COVER FULL

It seems that he has had a productive year. Styles has thoughtfully brought a canister of coffee and some bottles of water in his backpack, and we sit at either end of a park bench for a socially distanced chat. Duly invigorated, we are ready to face the day.

THE ART OF STILLNESS BOOK COVER FULL

By the time we have swum a full circuit, however, body temperatures have adjusted, and the ice, you might say, has been broken. Styles, who admits he will try any fad, has recently had a couple of cryotherapy sessions and is evidently less susceptible to the cold. The glacial water is a cloudy phlegm green beneath the surface, and clammy reeds slap oneвЂ™s ankles. We take the piratical gangplank that juts into the water and dive in. Photographed by Tyler Mitchell, Vogue, December 2020 I feel like IвЂ™m able to enjoy the things that are happening right in front of me, even if itвЂ™s food or itвЂ™s coffee or itвЂ™s being with a friend-or a swim in a really cold pond!вЂќ Styles also feels that his meditation practices have helped him through the tumult of 2020: вЂњMeditation just brings a stillness that has been really beneficial, I think, for my mental health.вЂќДЇor Styles, his friend and muse GucciвЂ™s Alessandro Michele crafted a frothy, lace-trimmed creation, paired here with a double-breasted tuxedo jacket. вЂњIt has changed my life,вЂќ he avers, вЂњbut itвЂ™s so subtle. He practices Pilates (вЂњIвЂ™ve got very tight hamstrings-trying to get those openвЂќ) and meditates twice a day. Styles has been on a six-day juice cleanse in readiness for VogueвЂ™s photographer Tyler Mitchell.

A handful of intrepid fellow patrons in various states of undress are blissfully unaware of the 26-year-old supernova in their midst, although I must admit IвЂ™m finding it rather difficult to take my eyes off him, try as I might. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world.That sweatshirt and the Columbia Records tracksuit bottoms are removed in the quaint wooden open-air changing room, with its Swallows and Amazons vibe. In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many-from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson-have found richness in stillness. Growing trends like observing an вЂњInternet SabbathвЂќ-turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning-highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives.

These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people-even those with no religious commitment-seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. In The Art of Stillness-a TED Books release-Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. ThereвЂ™s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.

Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. A follow up to Pico IyerвЂ™s essay вЂњThe Joy of Quiet,вЂќ The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug.

The art of stillness book cover