looking into a still pond, seeing the reflection of sky and trees and possibly our own face, we are given a gift of beauty, of clarity.
reflecting on our lives may also give us the opportunity to see more clearly our decades of experience. this becomes the spiritual task of life review, or better still life-reviewing. it is a continuous, active path to the wisdom of the elder.reflecting is different from reminiscing. in reminiscence we simply remember the past, usually the romanticised “good stuff”. in reflecting we have to on-going opportunity to change course, to modify our behaviour, to learn. in taking on the task of life-reviewing we can mend our ways and possibly make amends to those we might have hurt, looking with compassion and tenderness at the uncomfortable.
we also reflect on our achievements, our successes, our on-going aliveness. this is an area of life we are taught to minimise lest we seem arrogant. yet, in acknowledging our accomplishments, we step into more truth. we can see our triumphs in the light of the honest reflection we see in the still water of the pond. we can see a more complete picture of a life.
in this process we take responsibility for today and for yesterday, opening a present and a future that is more authentic, more loving. while we may not be able to repair all those years of interactions, we are not powerless in creating more vivid, lively current relationships…with ourselves and with others, with our community and the planet
life-reviewing can be an exciting, intimate adventure. it can reveal the trajectory of a life examined, with all its bumps and potholes, with all its glowing sunrises, with all its awe-ful beauty.