As I was perusing the entries in my upcoming next book I saw that with this book, the majority of the entries came from my blog writing… at least the initial idea/concept. I always ‘tweaked’ the post for the book but it was this realization that caught my attention. How often do we ‘try out’ something in a place that allows experimentation and safety? Actually both components are necessary. One should never attempt something without a view of eventual ‘tweaking’ and safety… or at least I think it is foolhardy not to do so.
Perhaps ‘try out’ is the appropriate title for this post, but reflection is what caused the realization. So, instead of emphasizing ‘try out’, I’d like to look at the ‘act’ of reflecting. What is this for you? What might it accomplish if utilized more often? What is it??? According to Webster, reflection has an ‘interesting’ definition:
“something that shows the effect, existence, or character
of something else… something that causes people to
disapprove of a person or thing…
It wasn’t until the 6th and 7th definition that more closely describes what I meant as the action:
“a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a
result of meditation.”
Mirror was the context for the initial definitions, but it is the world of the mind I wanted to emphasize.
Reflecting, reflection can cause a new way at looking at (fill in the blank) or a different way of action. But, mere thought isn’t sufficient in my world of definitions, it has to be translated into behavior in order to validate the ‘new’. Reflecting may begin the process but action has to occur to validate or refute. Without the action to know, reflecting is only an untested theory.
Is this discussion just so much word game playing? No… I don’t believe it is or I wouldn’t have posted it. In my world there is no such ‘thing’ as an unrelated discovery of you. Anything that enhances your knowledge, appreciation, or understanding of who you are and how you go about expressing you is relevant and important. And this includes those ‘things’ that you determine have no value to you.
However, I do encourage you to have an experimental and discovery process in your arsenal of aspects and components of you. Obviously, I do recommend that reflecting become a part of who you are. The discoveries and adventures you will encounter will enhance everything you are. This can also reaffirm whatever you are engaged in doing and being. Reflecting allows you the luxury of stepping back for a moment to analyze and confirm. Definitely an activity that I recommend.
