The Art of Contemplation – Harvesting Pauses
We live in a fast-paced and hyper-connected world. I’m not sure when it happened but did y’all notice that life started speeding up some years ago but without us knowing it? All jokes aside (is that a joke?) life does seem like it may be going too fast right now. It is indeed running at a much faster pace than it did before the internet, before cell phones, and before social media! The fact that we are in a fast-paced and hyper-connected world now are major contributors to a diminishing amount of time that the average American spends in the state of contemplation. If we reclaimed that contemplation time, would we feel better? Would we have a more even keeled emotional state?
Moments of quiet contemplation have become increasingly rare. Most people (unless they have re-engineered their lives) are constantly responding and reacting to the omnipresent or all-invasive world around them. When we are not actually pelted with texts, notifications, or emails we often feel as if something is missing or like we are missing something. This - isn’t - good! But I’m not here (this time) to rant about that, though if you haven’t sat down and watched Social Dilemma you should (and so should your kids)!
But back to the point of this short post…contemplation.
Contemplation is a profound lost practice that offers us a sanctuary of stillness amongst the chaos. Author Richard Rudd talks about contemplation as “harvesting pauses” and I absolutely love this! In the day to day, those little pauses when we are not engaged in something are tremendously valuable. Can we pause long enough to see their value? 
When we can notice and sit with these natural pauses in our day we can then take one step further and allow ourselves to enjoy them. That completes the very uncomplicated skill of contemplation!
Notice the Pause → Enjoy the Pause
And once we can notice and enjoy the pause, our brain calms down and starts to daydream or contemplate. These moments of contemplation can help us to get back in sync with our breath, help us to correct our posture, or to loosen our tight jaw. These moments can hold great wealth inside of them - allowing our senses to open up and create a deeper connection to the environment or just allow us to move into the mode of witnessing the magic of life that is bustling and unfolding all around.
The more that we embrace these moments of contemplation the more peaceful we will feel, the clearer our minds can be, and the more our heart can open to the beauty all around us. When we give our minds a break from the alerts, notifications, tasks, or the obsessive mentation on the next action step we need to take, and we find that pause button - our world can change. When we pause, our mind saves energy. When our mind saves a little energy throughout the day we have more mental and emotional energy at the end of the day for our family and ourselves.
Overworking and over stressing ourselves often leaves us in a state where we have less compassion, fewer patience, and a shorter temper at the end of the day. But, syncing up with this natural rhythm of moving from focus to contemplation and back to focus as we go throughout the day can help us to stay positive and upbeat until bedtime.
So try it out now! As soon as you are done with this article (and after you share it with your friends and loved ones 
) just pause. Sit for a moment and feel the weight of your body, the state of relaxation that your muscles are in, and hear the sounds around you. What a precious and magical moment you are experiencing right now. You’re alive, the earth is alive, and the air is alive inside of you. Notice it!