The contemplative attitude is cultivated through deep attention to what is before us; it requires an intention to seek and be receptive to the Divine wherever we may be, wherever we may look. It is a passion for the subtle reality of the Presence, the Divine Presence that awakens this capacity in us…..As this way of seeing, experiencing, and knowing…..dawned in my life, everything opened to my understanding through an inner gaze of attentiveness. The perfection of certain flowers, the flight of birds, the movement of trees and clouds, the magnifcent heights of mountains, the smiles of children, the laughter of friends, the rhythmic cadence of the sea, the fragile beauty of butterflies – all these and countless other details of the world revealed their secrets through contemplation.
Wayne Teasdale
(from A Monk in the World)
