Quiet Contemplation

In a society of instant access to information individuals rely on synthesis to gain understanding.  Soundbites and brevity take the place of quiet contemplation in life's journey for deeper insight.  Modernity has increased the tempo of life and desire by individuals to gain a quick and instant access to understanding.  This new age has also become increasingly transactional, which in turn has made accumulation of information more about utility than knowledge for knowledge's sake.  One might suggest that this is a natural evolution.  It is clear that the more we rely on technology and speed, the less time we have to be deliberate and ponder ideas.  Perhaps it is time to pause and ask society if this mad dash toward instant information is entirely healthy.

James Madison

Personal enlightenment comes from questions posed in an effort to heed the Delphic maxim, "know thyself" and the sage advice of Socrates which stated, "An unexamined life is not worth living." This can only occur in moments of quiet contemplation - moments that are greatly enhanced when one turns to the great works of history, religion, politics, and literature.  Inherent in this argument is the element of time.  Thomas Paine declared, "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."  It is only through repeated reading and thought that we come to conclusions  about the answers we seek.  Perhaps the most exciting part of this process is that for every question answered a multitude of other questions present themselves for further inspection.  Life then becomes a continual process of internal improvement and an exciting quest for answers.  However, one need not believe that this is an internal process only, many of societies greatest questions have been answered through quiet contemplation.

James Madison provides us with a fine example of what can result from dutiful and exacting dedication to quiet contemplation.  During the spring of 1787, Madison returned from his duties in the Confederation Congress to his estate Montpelier to conduct what historian Douglass Adair classified as "probably the most fruitful piece of scholarly research ever carried out by an American."  From within the tranquil confines of his library on the upper floor, Madison created the foundations for the American Constitution.  It is quite doubtful that this work could have been completed without this spring of quiet contemplation.

Does Madison's example provide us with an applicable lesson for modern society?  We live in an atmosphere in which work and diversion are all-consuming - who has time for quiet contemplation?  It might be argued that the answer lies in a modification of quiet contemplation for our modern times. Madison suggested that the only way in which a republic could survive was through an educated/informed electorate.  Based on recent events, one might question how little informed the current electorate is, no matter their political stripe.  Perhaps citizens today can take Madison's spring in an hour each day or carve out time from other leisure activities to quietly contemplate their own lives and the world around them.  We can hope that this will result in more or truly informed person and a better citizen for the Republic.