Contemplation in Our Busy World?
I was in a shopping center one day and heard the person beside me talking. I responded to what she said, but when I looked at her, she wasn't even paying attention to me or to what I said but was continuing to talk. I looked at her closely and saw this piece of equipment attached in her ear. I felt so embarrassed!!! It dawned on me that she was talking to somebody on the phone while her hands and eyes were busy looking through the items in the shelf.
While I was processing the experience in my head and laughing at that embarrassing moment, the realization came to me that this is what contemplation is all about. Even when we're busy with our work and other concerns, contemplation is still possible! Like that woman in the shopping center, it did not matter where she was or what she was doing. The technology (blue tooth) provided her the means to constantly communicate with other people no matter what.
I ask myself: how can I possibly listen to God wherever I am and whatever I am doing? What is my "blue tooth" as a means to communicate with God?
Psalm 139: 1-10 came to mind:
Lord, you have examined me and you know me.
You know everything I do;
From far away you understand all my thoughts.
You see me whether I am working or resting
You know all my actions.
Even before I speak, you already know what I will say
You are all around me on every side
You protect me with your power.
Your knowledge of me is too deep
It is beyond my understanding.
In truth, God is always with us. The question is how attentive are we to God's abiding presence? Do we have the listening ear at all times? Are we aware of God's manifestations in our lives in whatever form they come?
Another metaphor I want to use is this: Have you experienced being so caught up with work that you did not notice as your friend stepped into the room? In a contemplative stance of prayer, we are called to be attentive to God's presence, as Psalm 139 describes. At times when we find ourselves too caught up with work and concerns even of ourselves, we have to find ways to step back and look around us and within us. Our FRIEND is standing in front of us waiting for us to lift up our heads and acknowledge His presence. He might be telling us something more important to pay attention to instead of what we might be thinking is "more important."
If the technology is able to connect people constantly in almost any circumstances, how are we able to connect to God constantly?
May our loving God give us the grace to connect our daily life experiences and our relationships with others to our relationship with our omniscient and omnipresent GOD.