CONTEMPLATION AND ACTION — free as the sky

What is the link between contemplation and action?

Our actions stem from our perception of “what is real.” Actions must find their firm footing based on our rationale and convictions of what we perceive to be real. We don’t just act and do something. We act based on our understanding of reality. We are always governed by inner guidance that justifies our actions based on our interpretation of reality. I do the act of flossing because of my perception of reality that flossing is good for my dental care. I do the act of listening because my interpretation of what is real needs me to listen and care. I do the act of going somewhere because my understanding of what reality dictates at the time.

I have shared Parker Palmer’s definition of contemplation, “any way one has of penetrating illusions and touching reality.”

“A long, loving look at the Real” is another definition of contemplation that is widely accepted and used.

Parker’s definition names illusions explicitly where the second definition implies it. Both definition focus on the quality of touching and seeing reality as is.

If our actions stem from our perception of what is real, then discerning and seeing what is real is absolutely crucial because it drives our actions. Furthermore, separating illusions from reality or sifting reality from swarming illusions is clearly the most important contemplative practice. Illusions disguise as being real. That’s why they are illusions, false, fake, or pseudo reality. Illusions compete for my attention to pretend to be real over what is positively real. I know that my illusions are dense and thickly crusted, making the work of penetration grinding and challenging. I have illusions about my abilities, my importance, my influence, my accomplishments, my motives, etc.

ILLUSIONS

As “real” as my illusions are, all societies and cultures possess illusions. Societal illusions pose a greater challenge of penetration than individual illusions.Illusions such as what peace looks like, what racial inequality looks like, what social justice looks like, what genuine spirituality looks like, what democracy (or other political systems) looks like, etc.

The illusions are thick and dense, and they comprise a long list. Whether at the individual level or the societal level, we have seen that illusions beget other illusions that create inexorable and vicious cycles of nonsense. I have illusions about how good a father I am, and those illusions get embraced and perhaps even replicated by others who I think I have some influence which may also be an illusion. Not only that, internally, my illusions as a father cause my self-worth illusions to grow unbeknownst to me.

We are all familiar with the saying “Don’t just stand there, do something.” There is time and place for that, but in the context of illusions clouding out what is real, perhaps we need to reverse the saying: “Don’t just do something, stand there.” This is where the admonition and exhortation of taking a “long, loving look at the Real” is persuasive. I ask myself, when was the last time I just stood and watched something for long enough to appreciate the complexities and intricacies of reality? I am not talking about material things made by human hands necessarily, I am talking about the things in nature, whether it is a single leaf, a coy wild flower by a hiking trail, a tiny ant busily searching for something, a blue sky filled with cumulus clouds (my fav) stretching as far as eyes can see, a dog napping, etc. I believe when our actions become derivative of a long, loving look at the Real, then our actions speak louder and become much more meaningful and impactful. From my own experience, too much of our action is re-action, based on external provocation of what is not real. This further betrays who we are interiorly or what we want to do based on our free and creative spirit and thus our actions lose the meaning and impact they deserve.

All our beginning point is the same in that each of us is created to bear the image of God with no exceptions. All our end is and should be to become the likeness of God, as we read in the creation account that we are made in the image and likeness of the triune God. So then, I propose that all of us are created to become. The word become ties contemplation and action, or if you prefer, being and doing, seamlessly. The key quest of becoming is aimed at become like what or more precisely who. The idea of becoming assumes that there is a destination, and that destination is to become the likeness of God. Jesus puts it this way, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Furthermore, the way to become is to follow Jesus with the perfect and creative help of the Holy Spirit. This is what our human and spiritual journey is about.

But following Jesus on our way to become the likeness of God does not mean all our journeys are exactly the same. At the root, our becoming is to be fully alive, as each life is uniquely and unrepeatably different. This is where the fun and craziness start. All our journeys as pilgrims of becoming is different as we are to figure out and map out our own paths. At the same time, there is also a universality in our journeys that we can learn from each other as fellow pilgrims. There is both peculiarity and universality in our pilgrim journeys.

To be fully alive is to become, a combination of both to be (contemplate) and to do (act). As each of us do our part in becoming, we can see the world becoming as God intended.