#20 the power of reflection

“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”― Yvonne Woon

Hello my lovelies,

The quote above is utterly fantastic! To me it means we can learn to understand events and learn more about life inside of us and around us. I personally find reflection to be one of the most powerful and impactful ways of living life. We are forever changing, and to foster positive change we need to reflect. Reflection gives us the opportunity to see not only mistakes and challenges but what is going well, what we want to add to our life rather than take away. I reflect each day, as well as weekly, not only to serve as a memory, but to remind me of what I love, finding joy in little things and knowing where I want to go in life.

Methods

The beauty of reflection is that it can be adapted to whatever you may like. The most common ones are meditation, journalling and talking to a trusted person. I tend to mix and match but my preferred method is through journalling.

Meditation is wondrous because you are in a moment of pure stillness, of pure rest. You can think of something you need to ponder, questioning each thought as it comes along, embracing the responses. It is a classic technique to meditate on a particular topic to gain the elusive insight. It is popular and deemed necessary by many Buddhists. You can view the thoughts as they are and investigate once recognised

Journalling is my favourite because of its accessibility. There are so many journal prompts out there or having the ability to free write. I tend to free write. It can feel like a much more safe space to reflect unfiltered. No one will see it unless you share it and putting pen to paper can act as a release, I find it brings the tension in my body to calm and ease.

The hardest: talking. From time to time we all need to talk to someone we deeply trust, someone who can offer the right engagement and right support. It can be hard, but it can do wonders for organising thoughts. I am lucky to have my fiancé. He always asks if he needs to listen, or offer advice.

I reflect so often because I am at risk of burnout. I find myself in pain and am unsure why until I ponder, I need to then be able to plan my next steps forward. Reflection on my mental health means I can get to the root cause (or looking deeply, in Buddhist perspective). It allows me to see my current state, see early warning signs, and not only accept, but embrace what I am experiencing.