Illuminations

Contemplation as an Ancestral Skill



Years ago someone asked me a question that I’ve never forgotten.
 
“In your ideal world, if you could get paid to do anything….what would you do?”
 
I was still young when I was asked this, but my immediate answer was: “I’d get paid to walk outside in nature, to think, daydream and ponder.”
 
To me, that sounded like heaven. It still does.
 
I still revisit this question all the time. Partly because I have moments where I realize, with a shock of wonder, that this is a huge part of my livelihood now. 
 
But also because I have a word for that state of being I so craved in my life: contemplation.
 
Contemplation is quieter than thinking. It’s deeper than daydreaming, more soulful than pondering. 
 
Contemplation is the practice of walking silently around the standing stone of a thought. It’s feeling the sunlight merge with the minerals in you and letting yourself be infused with slow wonder for the world. 
 
The practice of contemplation often feels at odds with the culture we live in, but it’s also where the healing we most crave resides.
 
If you’ve been feeling the call to a more soulful life, one that is infused with quiet meaning and the vividness of being alive—check out my new video Contemplation as an Ancestral Skill and give yourself full permission to simply be today.

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The ancestors want us to remember that this space of slow, thoughtful experiencing is where the healing we need most resides.

You don’t have to build big monuments or work yourself into the ground to make a difference.

The impact you are here to make can be as simple as giving yourself permission to slow down and allow in the wonder of life.

You, quietly tending your inner wells, is a source of nourishment for the Earth.

So allow yourself time today to simply contemplate life.

And know that by doing so, you bring new peace into this world.