Reflexivity.

Tea in the Garden with Rachel and AlanI’m sitting at home in my hallway office thinking about life and the changes of the past year, and also of the changes that are about to occur in the next year.  It is truly amazing what can happen if one thinks about one’s life in a long term perspective.  Reflexivity! as my best friend puts it.  By my definition it is the ‘power’ to create one’s own world by thinking about one’s present world.   By asking questions frequently about how I feel and what I think I need or want, I’ve begun to build up a praxis of my life and I think my future possibilities — even if it doesn’t involve slingshotting around the sun to go back in time and try again.

I find it absolutely amazing that most people don’t spend time thinking about their own lives and all that is happening to them, or rather all that is happening in which they play an part, as an actor. Just today, I was speaking with a smart colleague about this and it occurred to me that most people don’t think about their lives… or don’t think about what they are thinking about.  Strangely, the later is one definition of being sentient.

Earlier in this blog I proposed a few questions to think about daily.  As I have done this reflecting myself, the questions have changed for me. The act, or performance, of asking yourself these questions, (or any reflective question, I imagine), has the potential to help you align your dreams and your purpose in life.  I may be being too nebulous and intellectual here;  so instead I issue you a challenge.  Try this for three weeks…. as my mother said, for 21 days: the number of days it takes to create a habit…. take five minutes every morning and answer these questions in a journal (electronic or otherwise) or on a piece of paper that you can tape to the mirror.   See what happens with your thinking.  Think about how you would like to change the questions.  Think about your answers.  Think about what you know and don’t think you know.  Reflect on your life and your part in the world. You’ll think as part of your daily journey.  Most of all, enjoy yourself and be kind to yourself, as you travail.

Here are the questions, as I have written them.  Feel free to alter them as time goes by. As you ‘unpack’ the language in these questions (like the difference between need or want) you’ll see multiple ways of thinking. Don’t worry about the questions too much, just consider your answer.  Sometimes it is the first thing that comes to your soul.  There is no correct or absolute way to reflect… there is only to begin and continue — for yourself and no one else really.  I believe we should all remember that we are all solitary travellers on the earth.  It often reminds me of a film that I saw while I lived in Alabama titled. “A Company of Strangers.”     That’s another story.

What is the most important thing I need (or want) to be for myself today?

What is the most important thing that I need (or want) to do for myself today?

What is the most important thing for me to do for others today?

What is it that I most need from others today?

What are the most pressing items that need doing in the businesses today?

How curious do I feel?

Do these activities take me toward or away from my future vision?

I invite you, as I have done all along, to post comments and thoughts to this blog.  Share what you are learning for yourself and others who read and reflect.

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