THE LAW OF REFLECTION
Psalm 90:1-12
a bit of a lost art. Many of us unfortunately are living unexamined lives. This shouldn’t be the case. Few things are more valuable than self-reflection.
Reflection allows you to analyse your life from both a macro and micro level. At a macro level, you can evaluate the overall trajectory of your life. You can see where you are headed, determine whether you are happy with the direction, and make adjustments as necessary. At a micro level, you can evaluate your responses to particular circumstances and events.
Practicing self-reflection takes discipline and intentionality. It requires pressing the pause button once in a while amidst the chaos of life and simply taking time to think and ponder about your life. This is not an easy thing for many people to do. But it’s an incredibly valuable practice. Without reflection, we simply go through life moving from one thing to the next without taking time to evaluate whether things are actually going well. We don’t pause to think; to analyse, to determine what is going well and what isn’t working.
Reflection is being able to aggregate actions of the past and appropriate thoughts clearly for the future. If after your evaluation, you discover you are not on the projection you ought to be, then you should be able to clearly figure out what and what you did that is responsible for your not too good result. A moment of reflection is a moment of deep honesty to oneself. It’s a time when you have to make yourself solely responsible for the things you should do, the bulk stops on your table.
A lack of reflection causes us to simply keep running, trying to keep up with things even if they are not going well. It may lead us to stay in a job we don’t like or a relationship that isn’t going well. Reflection allows you to step back and gain perspective on what matters and what can be ignored. It allows you to consider the consequences of your words and action. It also enables you to consider the best, most effective, most helpful way to act in a given situation. Reflection allows us to evaluate and process what we’ve experienced. It allows us to think deeply and ponder the meaning of our circumstances, emotions and motivations. It enables us to live holistic, integrated and healthy lives.
REFLECTION: Where am I now? How did I get here? Where am I going? How and when will I get there?
