Reflections
I have just been considering reflections as I gaze upon a faceted piece of glass hanging in my window. The way the light enters the crystal then reflects the light back out into the world, splitting the white light into rainbow colours is beautiful.
In life we often take time out to reflect upon ourselves, am I kind, have I done the right thing, would I have done things differently? In fact I was going to write this a week ago, but I needed time to reflect upon what I wanted to say, ironically.
What is it to reflect and what’s reflecting back?
To reflect upon something is to learn to develop an awareness of oneself.
Have you ever really, I mean really looked in a mirror? Have you ever REALLY seen yourself through the reflection of others, this being the true mirror of yourself? What we choose to reveal to the world is not always our mood or how we look, it’s what’s being observed back at us. What you believe you are choosing to show is not always what you are revealing.
Life is busy for many people and not so busy for some. Regardless of what we do or do not do in our day, we still have interactions with ourselves through our thoughts and with others, whether in the real outside world or through social media.
How we interact with our self and our world is how we view who we are, who we want to be, where we want to be and what we think or believe of others .
The human condition is full of judgments. These judgements are simply contradictions. We are simply comparing our idealism of ourselves and our environments onto another. Being judgement has no room for growth as it’s a very limited state of living life.
To be reflective is to be able to question our behaviour, interactions, reactions and actions, life choices, conversations, relationships & expectations. To be able to compare and to contrast how a situation could have been handled is often done in hindsight rather than foresight. Hind sight is a wonderful luxury, as long as you learn from it. If a similar situation arises again at least you know you have the option of handling it differently. Foresight is when rational thought occurs before appropriate action is taken. To be reflective takes honesty, to really take a close look at yourself, your surroundings, your behaviour, thoughts and emotions. You are after all a multi faceted individual with great potential. All it takes is a desire to be better for change to happen.
No one personality is perfect, which is something that can quite quickly be forgotten with those big egos and pedestals that are so freely created and destroyed. Take a step back and have a good look, it’s really useful. If you can’t truly see yourself, then ask a close friend for an honest opinion. Quite often we have a blind spot to our personality that we are completely unaware of that can be quite destructive. It’s okay to take criticism as we are all a work in progress.
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
― Rumi
Life is fascinating and can be beautiful, it has the potential to teach us so much about who we are as long as we have the eyes and the willingness to really see. Life is the realm of colour, with all of its wonders.
We truly do create our own reality through our choices, actions and reactions. No future can ever be predicted, the only change you can create is how you are today. Having the awareness of yourself gives you better options and choices. Remember no choice is a bad one only your actions will determine any outcome.
One thing I have learnt is that by slowing down, taking personal responsibility, not being in a rush, putting down the mobile phone and not needing to know who’s liked my post, being stiller, sitting back, meditating, observing by seeing not looking, hearing rather than just listening, all these things will improve you as long as you can see the potential for your change.
We as human beings are so busy doing that we forget how to simply BE. We forget about spirituality, philosophy and asking pertinent questions like ‘who am I’, ‘what is the cause of my existence’, ‘where did I come from before I was born?’.
STOP, SLOW DOWN, BE STILL. There is so much more to YOU than all the adornments that are placed upon yourself. Seeing yourself and the world from a larger perspective is possible, it takes a willing-ness and a desire to want to be self aware, to take personal responsibility of who you are as a human being. The wheel of life is reflected light, full of all the colours that it brings. Learn to come from a greater space, more expanded place, where the light comes from, not just where the reflections begin.