<\/p>\n
\u201cNowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul\u201d (Marcus Aurelius).<\/p>\n
AT PRESENT, THE WORD \u201cCONTEMPLATION\u201d MAY HAVE A SLIGHTLY MYSTICAL SOUND TO IT, BUT IT\u2019S REALLY NOT A WORD TO BE AFRAID OF. When we \u201ccontemplate\u201d we simply think about something very quietly and carefully. We go to that \u201cuntroubled retreat\u201d in our own soul and turn the thing over in our minds, looking thoughtfully at the various facets of the subject we\u2019re meditating on. Certainly there are many things worth contemplating, and we\u2019re the losers if we don\u2019t take the time to contemplate them well.<\/p>\n
The value of contemplation lies in two directions: we come to see things with greater understanding<\/em> and also to see them with greater appreciation.<\/em> When we reflect thoughtfully on what we know, we not only see the true importance of certain principles, but we are moved to respond with gratitude to the grace that has been shown to us.<\/p>\n There is a danger, of course, especially for those whose nature tends toward contemplation. The danger is that we may spend too much time thinking and not enough time acting on behalf of others. Contemplation is wonderful, but if all we ever did was contemplate, we wouldn\u2019t fill a very worthy place in the world. As Thomas Merton said, \u201cNo man who ignores the rights and needs of others can hope to walk in the light of contemplation because his way has turned aside from truth, from compassion, and therefore from God.\u201d<\/p>\n But if we may fail by contemplating and not acting, we may also fail by acting and not contemplating, and that may be the more common problem for most of us. We rush through our days with such a focus on being productive that we take too little time to reflect on the meaning and purpose of the things we do. Even when we stop to do something as apparently thoughtful as reading, we don\u2019t really meditate on what we\u2019re reading \u2014 we speed-read it and move on to the next piece of information. Is it any wonder, then, that we don\u2019t grow any stronger in our spirits? Is it any surprise that we\u2019re so shallow?<\/p>\n \u201cHe [Thomas Hobbes] had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men, he should have known no more than other men\u201d (John Aubrey).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n