You may be thinking, “Cogitative? That’s an awfully big word for this early in the morning.” And if you are thinking that, at least you are thinking. Cogitation is defined as, “the action of thinking deeply about something; contemplation.” Unfortunately, this is not something that many people make the effort to do very often. We can be so busy dragging cursors and arrows across screens that we are spending less time being aware of what is going on around us – paying less attention to our senses.
Think about it – what did you do the last time you were traveling to an unknown destination? If you are like most, rather than study a map and look intently for clues, you may have been following a blue line on a GPS screen. We can miss incredible terrain, fail to read intriguing signs, and be oblivious to significant landmarks. As authors Blum and Hochschild point out, rather than sharpen our sensing and imagination skills, we may experience instead, the atrophy of our cogitative powers. In doing so, we became less perceptive.
The Creator of the universe placed us in a sensation filled world. What a shame it is when we miss out on it. We only get to experience this life once. I don’t know about you, but I want to take in as much of it as possible – in nature, in relationships, and in fulfilling my reasons for being here. So, I wonder – what can you (and I ask myself as well) do today to think more deeply so that we can experience life more richly?