While community is important, we all need solitary time with the Creator and Lover of our souls. Closely connected to the spiritual practice of silence, solitude is the discipline of removing ourselves from the noise of our usual lives so we-like Mary, who chose what was better-can sit quietly at the Lord's feet. It is a time to step aside from our everyday "realities" and focus instead on authentic life as God would have us live it-loving him and extending that love to our neighbor. Contemplation is an everyday lifestyle of truly seeking after God, despite our busy lives and the distractions that can hinder us from doing so. "Contemplation," writes Thomas Merton, "is the highest expression of man's intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder." Through the spiritual practice of solitude and contemplation, may this Bible study help awaken your daily life into "spiritual wonder"!