" I doubt very much that there is any creativity in the world apart from contemplation. In contemplation we catch a vision of not only what is, but what can be. We find our place in salvation history.

Contrary to what we have thought, contemplatives are the great doers. Contemplatives return from times of withdrawal with inner clarity and with direction. In their return from the silence, they take up the work of giving from to the liberating truths that have been given to them in flashes of insight and vision. They are also the great enablers of others. They evoke spirit in those they meet. Because they have been present to themselves, they are able to be present to others in a way that awakens, enlivens, gives courage. In them we see more clearly a way of existence that combines both being and doing. "

― Elizabeth O'Connor , Search for Silence