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12Often in fiction, characters have a habit of using particular spaces for the purpose of contemplation.
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14This space can take any form, be it a rock, a chair, a tree stump, really any designated area used for thinking or meditation.
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16This can overlap with BadMoodRetreat if the contemplation area is in use for the purpose of overcoming negative emotions.
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18Compare PuttingOnMyThinkingCap, when a character needs a specific item to think better. Also see HappyPlace.
19----
20!!Examples:
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22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25* ''Literature/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected'': As [[TheHermit the lone wolf he is]] in his school, [[SecondYearProtagonist Hachiman Hikigaya]] usually goes to the high school's backyard to lunch and to think, since is his "lonely place". That, until [[GenkiGirl Yui Yuigahama]] and Iroha Isshiki started to accompany him there (for his own disdain). Also, when there're no cases to solve, the members of the [[BreakfastClub Service Club]] use that place to think and rest from the people.
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder:Comic Books]]
29* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' uses the Fortress of Solitude as a place for research and contemplation.
30* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' uses the Batcave as a place for research and development as well as meditation.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Comic Strips]]
34* The Dandelion Patch in ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty''. Doubles as a land of the FisherKing, as, toward the end of the original run, when everybody's leaving, the patch gets paved over.
35* Huey Freeman from ''{{ComicStrip/The|Boondocks}} [[WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks Boondocks]]'' could often be seen sitting beside a particular local tree in the neighborhood to do some pondering.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Fan Works]]
39* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. On having his medicine bundle returned to him, Chakotay thinks that he needs to find a place to meditate with a view of the stars, but there aren't many of those on a rocketship [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome as there's not much to look at in space]].
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Film]]
43* In ''Film/IfYouCouldSayItInWords'', Sadie shows Nelson a playground where she used to hang out as a kid. Her mother was an alcoholic, so she used the playground as her thinking spot.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Literature]]
47* ''Literature/TheWindUpBirdChronicle'': When looking for his missing cat, Toru Okada finds an empty well in an abandoned house. He eventually takes to using the well as his thinking and meditation place, and the plot is eventually bought for him by his employer and the well is outfitted with a ladder and a pulley system so he can open and close the well from inside.
48* In ''[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials The Amber Spyglass]]'', [[spoiler:Lyra]] uses the Botanical Garden of Jordan College to reflect on various issues, such as her life.
49* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' short story "After Sunset: The Right Choice?", Leafpool has a spot at the top of a hill where she likes to sit and look at the lake as she thinks about things; the story begins when she finds Brambleclaw sitting there.
50* ''Literature/TheRoosevelt'':
51** Emmet's closet at The Roosevelt is his safe space, with pillows and blankets and a Lycra sensory sack. He goes there whenever he needs to focus and think.
52** His employers, Workiva, put in a ball pit on his advice. He and some of his coworkers go there to think about ideas.
53* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': Arli has found a SecretRoom in a deserted elementary school where vo goes to think.
54* ''Literature/Tempest2011'': There's a large rock a few miles down the beach that Tempest climbs whenever she wants to be alone and think. She's been going there since she was eleven.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58* The park seasons of ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' feature characters using The Idea Bench, a bench with two seats facing opposite directions that rotates on an axis in a circular area. It was intended to take the place of The Barney Bag.
59* On ''Series/GilmoreGirls,'' Jess can be found at a small bridge over a pond near Stars Hollow high school when he's upset or needs to think. Hilariously, he chooses this spot after Luke [[RuleOfPool pushes him off of it]] in annoyance for his surly attitude. Later, it becomes important for Rory, as well, since Jess takes her on a picnic there and she retreats to it when she needs to think about her feelings for him after a humiliating public break-up with her current boyfriend.
60* ''Series/TheManyLovesOfDobieGillis'': Every episode begins with Dobie sitting and thinking in the park in front of a copy of Creator/AugusteRodin's "The Thinker".
61* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': In Season 5, Patrick takes David on a hike to see a beautiful view, and he tells David he used to come there to think about his feelings for David when they first met and he wasn't sure what to do. [[spoiler: He then gets down on one knee and proposes.]]
62* There was an episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' where it's revealed there's a toilet on the roof of the hospital. It's also revealed that people who use this toilet usually make a breakthrough in some issue they're thinking over.
63* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' has a RunningGag in which either Jerry or George would do their soul-searching at the same pier, always complete with the seagulls all flying away as the character ran back into town with their newfound revelation.
64* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': The Romulan Reclamation Site provides a Zhal Makh meditation chamber for its Romulan employees. There's a winding path painted on the wooden floor, and around it are lanterns. The participant is expected to walk barefoot along the path which represents the "journey into the center of the mind's most intimate space, where deepest truths are hidden."
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
68* According to UsefulNotes/{{Buddhis|m}}t tradition, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment after meditating for 49 days under a peepal tree (also called sacred fig) which is said to have grown at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, Northern India. Today this is the site of the Mahabodhi Temple, a holy site and place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus.
69* Literature/TheFourGospels: Jesus goes to silent, secluded places, far away from crowds and critics, in order to pray and meditate and to have a conversation with [[{{God}} his Father]]. He also tells his disciples to do the same, such as going to their rooms and closing the door. One place where Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified was the Garden of Gethsemane, an olive garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem.
70[[/folder]]
71
72[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
73* ''Series/FraggleRock'': One reason Mokey loves her job of gathering radishes is that she [[NatureLover delights in being among the plants and trees of the Gorgs' garden]]. She even has a secret place there, under a tree, some distance away from the Gorgs' castle and the vegetable patch, where she likes to write in her diary.
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Video Games]]
77* [[KingOfThieves Vanya Shah]] of ''VideoGame/Hitman2'' uses her bathroom as her private place to reflect, banning anyone other than Rani from entering. Likewise, she will use her private pool if the water tank is fixed, [[spoiler: allowing Agent 47 to kill her]].
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Visual Novels]]
81* The ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' character Shirou has a large shed where he practices magic, repairs appliances, and generally goes whenever he's struggling with unhappiness. According to Rin, other mages have (fancier) workshops as well.
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Web Videos]]
85* ''WebVideo/CommodoreHustle'': In episode "Critical", Graham Stark is revealed to have a spot where "Sometimes I ... come here to think". As a VisualGag it is revealed to be looking directly at a wall. It is revealed shortly afterwards to be one of a number of Graham's thinking spots. The gag is repeated as a CallBack in later episode "Crisis on Infinite Spoilers", only this time Graham's thinking spot is staring directly at the end of a set of shelves.
86* ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld'': The Inspiration Room in Stampy's House served as this to him, to think of new build ideas. He notes in Episode 600, "Town Tour", that he no longer uses it as the room was supposed to contain all the blocks one could have in Minecraft, and since its construction... a ''[[{{Understatement}} lot]]'' of blocks have been added to the game. He spends Episode 742, "Something Inspiring", adding an extension to the room which is a lot less cumbersome and actually more inspiring.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Western Animation]]
90* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Huu reached enlightenment and became a waterbending master by meditating beneath a massive banyan-grove tree at the heart of the Foggy Swamp.
91* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'': The Thinking Chair is where the characters usually go to put two and two together and figure out what Blue's trying to tell them with the clues she's given them. In one episode, it's a couch instead because the characters have company.
92* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'': When Abe is upset, he goes to the "Thinking Dock", which is one of two piers on a lake near the school. He usually ends up with company because someone goes and sits on the other pier.
93* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Three's a Crowd", Discord mentions having a "thinking tree", claiming it's where he gets his best ideas.
94* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': There's a hill on the outskirts of Beach City that has a good view of the town, and various characters (most notably Steven in "Full Disclosure" and Ruby in "The Question") have gone there to think. In fact, it's apparently called "Brooding Hill".
95* ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' has a "thoughtful spot" where he likes to sit down and think.
96[[/folder]]

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