“A lull in the rhythm of daily doing”

In what ultimately becomes a roadmap to a life of prayer, Howard Thurman, in Meditations of the Heart, notes:

“The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic;

Our spirits resound with clashings, with noisy silences,

While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull.”

Thurman penned this at least 70 years ago, and I think it is fair to say that the “endless traffic, the “clashings” and “noisy silences” of life have only intensified in that time.  As such, his suggestion for respite remains appropriate.  He calls for “a lull in the rhythm of daily doing.”  I am drawn to that phrase – “a lull in the rhythm of daily doing.”  First, it suggests that there is in fact a “rhythm of daily doing.”  My daily doings seem (at least at times) to more appropriately be classified as a “cacophonous din,” so the suggestion that they are or might be something else is encouraging.  His use of “daily doing” seems so much nicer a term than the four letter expletive I might suggest/often use in its place.  Finally, I appreciate the practicality in “lull” as opposed to the more absolute “cessation.”  Sometimes, cessation does seem like too big of an ask, whereas seeking a “lull” seems more attainable.  All that to say that “a lull in the rhythm of daily doing” sounds so much nicer than a frustrated “Can’t we just stop all this #%&*” — and is probably more effective.