After a very long journey yesterday, I had a late start this morning. I decided to warm up on the way to Morskie Oko. For those unfamiliar with Polish mountains, it is a long walk, but a very easy and accessible. Being accessible means that it’s also very busy. Waiting in a queue for the tickets to the National Park, I wondered whether it was the best choice. I wasn’t going to turn back, so I put some sun cream and sunglasses on and set off.

I was surprised how easily I could block out the chatter around me. The trail wasn’t as busy as it could be, but it wasn’t the solitude of the Pyrenees. As soon as I blocked out the human voices, I realised how still everything was. I’m used to this valley at different times of year when there is so much life and sound in nature. Today everything is SO still. The river and the streams that are a source of sound at any other time are totally frozen. Maybe with an exception of one our most famous waterfalls, but at the moment this usually roaring waterfall turned into a very quiet stream and you can hear it only for a moment. I had my headphones with music and audiobooks, but I decide to put them in my backpack. This stillness is so profound.

After stopping at the mountain hut, I decided to go up the yellow trail for a while. I intended only to go to a good spot to take a few pictures of the frozen lake and the hut itself. I didn’t have any equipment with me apart from the trekking poles. I didn’t need crampons or ice-axe for my original plan. I kept walking up thinking that in the worst-case scenario, I’d go back the same way. The conditions up to the final climb were fantastic and even that last section was doable if one knew how. I met a few people, but those places are away from the madding crowd which makes this stillness even more profound. You could hear a bird every now and then, but apart from that there was only the sound of snow crunching under your feet, your heartbeat, your breathing… None of those could spoil that sense of stillness. It’s funny, I didn’t even sing. Neither out loud or in my head. Apart from maybe two moments when the views were so stunning, that ‘O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder…’ simply sprang to my lips. It made me realise that you can well filter out any external noise if you only want to. I often thought that I needed a quiet place to achieve this. An excuse? Possibly…

Every time I allow it to happen, this sense of stillness makes me go deeper into my heart. When I do it like that, I’m at peace.

Be still…

Hear you heart…

Hear your thoughts…

See what’s there and where it will take you…