“Contemplation is a long, loving look at the real.” ~ Thomas Merton

Last weekend, I met with a group of 10 wonderful people at Bethany Spring in Kentucky to explore relationships using our cameras. The theme for the weekend was space, namely what do we bring to the space in our relationships?

Bethany Spring is the retreat center for the Thomas Merton Institute. Merton was a Trappist monk and prolific writer on the contemplative life. He lived just down the road from Bethany Spring at the Abbey of Gethsemani.

So, it was wonderful to visit the Abbey and meet with Brother Paul Quenon, who was a novice under Thomas Merton some 50 years ago. Brother Paul is a poet and photographer, as Merton was, and he shared some of his stunning photographs with us.

He told us that awareness – of our surroundings and especially the light – was key to contemplative photography.

Be open to seeing with new eyes. Embrace silence and space, and listen with the heart.