The following is a reflection I wrote during my high school years on the power of contemplation. As the year winds to a close, we need to remember to take time in between all of the busyness to deepen our mind and allow ourselves to grow:
The light from the early morning sunrise melts softly through the stained-glass windows. It is a rather blue winter morning, and everything is cold and crisp. As I sit on a green cloth chair, I close my eyes and take a breath, emptying my mind. I am filled with a deep sense of tranquility and peace.
The chapel at my school is small and often empty, allowing me be alone with my thoughts in the midst of a high-speed life. In the center of the chapel lies a simple wooden altar, and above it, an unadorned cross. Despite the bare furnishings, the room is not austere. Its beauty comes from its inherent simplicity.
Right now on this cold February morning, I am alone. The ambience is peaceful and quiet, and besides, I am surrounded with joyful images from the past and hopes for the future. Some days I focus my attention on the day ahead of me, anticipating both the struggles and felicities I will encounter. Other times I reach farther into the future, praying for guidance to make decisions concerning the next four years of my life and my pursuits beyond. I am hopeful for what lies ahead, and I meditate on it often.
Though the chapel may not be much larger than a typical classroom, it occupies an important place in my heart and in my world. Whether I am alone or surrounded by friends, here I feel I am a part of a higher purpose, some bigger work of art that includes not just my little locale but the entire known and unknown universe. Here, I feel God’s steadfast presence; I know that He is with and within me.
Taking time to reflect is an essential part of developing one’s perspective. While it is often helpful to use my mornings in the chapel to clear my senses and revitalize myself, I frequently take advantage of these moments to ponder solutions to new challenges and seek guidance for personal improvement. Not only does introspection enable me to learn more about myself, but it also allows me to identify and analyze the things that help me create the life I aspire to.
Contemplation is always an opportunity for self-amelioration. Most frequently, I use it to simply observe life from different angles. I often assign myself small mental exercises to expand my perspective, strengthening my imagination and broadening my mind. For example, sometimes I try to see myself through the eyes of a best friend, or those of a parent or sibling. I imagine myself as one of my loved ones, and through their eyes I gaze back at myself and see myself in a new light. Solving little assignments such as this helps me to reflect on myself and to understand not only my life and my actions more objectively, but in addition allows me to recognize the viewpoints of others.
Wherever I decide to go in my life, I know I will endeavor to seek out an environment where I can contemplate and meditate with peace. And because I intend to become a writer, I know that I will need to balance profound reflection with verbal communication. The prolific novelist Stephen King once said: “Even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning.” Serious thought is not always translatable to words, but it allows us to strengthen them. As humans, we are often able to contemplate that which we cannot even begin to vocalize, much less write about. If we spend all of our time merely reading, writing and speaking--which after all are quite vital but do not contain full meaning--and neglect to spend time in reflection, how will we ever attain full understanding about our lives and our world?
