quoted

“Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived.” Contemplation, as Thomas Merton writes of it, is not a solution to any of our problems, but a way of praying. Contemplative living is a way of being present to our experiences that appreciates the adventure and gift of being alive. Contemplation is not a series of techniques whose aim is to achieve self-calming, although contemplation cannot begin unless one develops a taste for quiet and periods of solitude. Contemplation is experiencing a “still-point” that allows us to recognize the “one thing necessary” for our lives that makes us more deeply joyful and courageous human beings. When we live contemplatively we take a stance on life that enables us to focus and “see” that both simplicity and complexity of experience are equally good and beautiful. Living a life that is contemplative opens us to ourselves, our neighbors, and, at deeper levels that we do not often experience, to God who, Merton would say, has been present to our lives and experience all the time.