Reflection | Take Time To Reflect!
This blog post was originally published on November 2, 2019.
In the early 70s, actor David Carradine starred as the Shaolin monk and martial-arts expert Kwai Chang Caine in the popular television show Kung Fu. Caine fled China after his master was killed, then relocated to America, defending the helpless and straightening out the crooked. Caine’s calm, collected, self-composed, and unperturbed demeanor made him appear extraordinary!
I believe it was in the mid-80s when I first started to hear about self-reflection, even though the practice has been documented as far back as 3000 years. The practice of introspection is an attempt to slow down and take time to figure out what matters to you in life. I remember thinking I needed to live a life similar to a Shaolin or Tibetan monk to be able to reflect. These monks used techniques that allowed them to enter a state of deep meditation for hours at a time. However, I knew I did not have the affordability to go to a quiet place for hours and get my meditation on! At that time, I worked two jobs, and there just wasn’t any time in my schedule for the exercise, or so I thought. Surprisingly, I find myself reflecting several times a week now, this is without my life being any less busy than it was before, and does not require 6-8 hours of deep meditation! I reflect mostly on situations, and how I can improve them. I reflect on how my actions impact others. I reflect on the things that make me happy, and also the things that make me unhappy. Sometimes when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I imagine seeing Kwai Chang Caine looking back at me saying “well done grasshopper!”
Share your thoughts on reflection.
