Continuing from yesterday’s theme about setting up a daily reflective practice, my invitation to you today is to extend that to reflecting on what life has taught you during the day. Or the year, since this is a great time for looking back and then planning forward.
So when you have some time off in the upcoming weeks, make some space for reflection. Go on a walk, or just sit where you are. Enjoy a little stillness and a calm mind. Every life experience you had this year, good or bad, was designed to teach you something. Really see what lesson you were being taught. And learn to discern between things that bring you fleeting joy or pleasure, and things that really brought positive change in your life. You know which ones I will recommend going after in 2017.
And if your year had a lot of negatives, remember that life runs in cycles. All of us experience minor setbacks that we work around or put up with. But those dramatic, life-changing troubles you encountered in the months gone by – the loss of a job, the breakdown of a relationship, the failure of a business – didn’t only ‘take’ from you. They also gave you something in return. It might be strength and fortitude, it might be increased awareness because you got a big wake-up call, maybe you now see things that you had been previously blind to..
Do you see why it’s important to really take a few moments to stop and give yourself that space for reflection?