The Need for Stillness

I believe one of the major needs of our day is contemplation. The ability to be still in the world, seeking solace in the midst of an overly noisy world.  The latin word for "leisure" is "schola".  It is the root word for "school" and "scholarship".  It is leisure not in the sense of loafing around on a hammock with an umbrella drink. It is leisure in the sense of having unencumbered time to explore a topic deeply.  When I ask teachers if they feel their classroom is a place of leisure, an environment of schola, they immediately state in no uncertain terms; ABSOLUTELY NOT! 

We must take time to be still.

The following video by Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist and director of the M.I.T. initiative on Technology and Self, argues that quiet time is key to adolescent development.