- Words: 302
- Time to read: 2 minutes
If you want to think you have to put yourself in a position to do so consistently. With today’s noise, it does not happen by default. I’ve had a number of places in which I like to think over the years.
Mowing the grass was always my favorite as a teen and younger adult. I don’t have much of a yard to mow these days.
The beach is one of my favorites. I’ve been blessed to visit a few almost uninhabited and they’re always so calm and serene. That’s a rare occasion so I enjoy that sparingly.
Perhaps the most attainable is a simple campfire. I don’t necessarily mean that you have to go camping. Just a simple place to be still and watch the wood quietly and ponderously while away from log, to flame, to coal, to ash. I’ve always been mesmerized by campfires. It’s likely due to my raising but regardless of the motive, it’s something that I can still enjoy from time to time.
Thinking precipitates writing. It’s no coincidence that the greatest thinkers–secular, religious, or otherwise–were all men who left us with volumes and tomes that impact us to this very day for better or worse. We need time and space–margin–to think. Too often we are so caught up in the moment or the busyness of life that we cannot even begin to think in a manner that is beneficial for that which is beyond the purview of the here and now.
It doesn’t have to be in a cabin in the wilds of the forest. It doesn’t have to be in a canoe on an isolated lake in the backcountry. It just has to be a place where you can think. A place to slow down in the hurry-scurry of life and ponder.
Where’s your thinking place?