I recently heard someone say they thought our society was the least contemplative in history. Although I don’t think there is any way to prove or disprove the remark, it resonated with my experience and is interesting to consider. Contemplation is not about devising a strategy to get what we want. It is not collecting ideas that reinforce or justify one’s actions, opinions or political affiliations.
Contemplation is an attempt to decern the ultimate meaning of a matter — the deep truth if you will. Considering this definition, contemplation does seem to be in short supply these days. There are several contributing factors. For one, most question the very existence of meaning or truth, and, if it does exist, they question our ability to identify or adequately communicate it. To believe this renders the search or quest for meaning and truth pointless.
Another factor is our lack of stillness. We rarely stop moving long enough to have a coherent thought. Our days are filled with action and striving. When things slow down we rush to fill the void by turning on the radio, listening to a podcast, checking our email, news feed or scrolling our social media accounts. Very few people regularly carve out time to retreat, be still and contemplate. I would argue this is one of art’s great gifts to the world. If approached properly art give us an opportunity to pause, challenge our assumptions — to contemplate important matters. It is unfortunate that most use art as a distraction or to justify their values and opinions.
What is more disturbing is when the artists themselves and the art industrial complex ignore the ultimate purpose of art and produces/sells works primarily as financial instruments, works that match a client’s couch or cynically mimic others’ work. When the industry fully adopts the idea that there is no truth or ultimate meaning, art offers little if anything to society other than momentary status or sense of style. When art is stripped of its meaning it leaves even the earnest seeker void. There is still great art being made every day, but to find it one must be patient and willing to carve out a silent space to contemplate meaning and perhaps find its truth.