" Reflection ... "

Who is that girl I see 

Staring straight back at me? 

When will my reflection show 

Who I am inside? ...

Why must we all conceal 

What we think, how we feel? 

Must there be a secret me 

I'm forced to hide? 

I won't pretend that I'm 

Someone else for all time 

When will my reflection show 

Who I am inside? 

When will my reflection show 

Who I am inside?

~ Christina Aguilera ~ Reflection ~

***

What does reflection mean to you? ... maybe thinking in new ways instead of just thinking ... maybe finding better to be better.

Using reflection as a means or tool to gauge where you were and where you are ... and where you want to go.  It is a way to understand your life and “course correct” if required.  Because life is overwhelming so when you objectively reflect you have an opportunity to meet yourself where you presently are.  

When a time comes to reassess and replant your life, you may look to religion, science or counseling ... and some have a combination of them.  

why Religion?

“believing the Divine can take away indecision's, uncertainty's and moral impurities.”

why Science?

“hard fact grid works used to sprout new developments of self and a better world”

why Counseling?

“seek a person(s) who will have ways to improve your life”

Personally, reflection helps me learn about myself in hopes to make better choices in my future.  I get to figure out where I went wrong and what I can do to put my life back on track.

Mistakes are a valuable commodity and a learning tool; 

but unless we understand why we make mistakes, 

all of this becomes counterproductive ...

But there is more to reflection .... success.  The more you reflect on your success, the more likely you will celebrate them ... instead of focusing only on what you failed at.  This allows you to put your life back into perspective and stay grounded.

The beauty of reflecting is that it is a powerful way to create space and encourage personal growth ... this is where transformation occurs.   

I recently read a few ideas to help with initiating your reflection process:

• Reflect on your Highlights
• Reflect on your Challenges
• Reflect on your Beginnings & Endings
• Reflect on your Blessings
• Reflect on your Intentions

Reflecting is a process .... a gentle reminder to oneself as to you they really are ... a personal check-in of what you embraced and what you released ... an opportunity to count your blessings.  

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. 

From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action" 

~ Peter Drucker 

" Balance ... "

" Just open your eyes,
And realize, the way it's always been.
Just open your mind
And you will find
The way it's always been.
Just open your heart
And that's a start ...

And he felt the earth to his spine,
And he asked, and he saw the tree above him, and the stars,
And the veins in the leaf,
And the light, and the balance ..."

~ The Moody Blues ~ Balance ~

***

Finding balance in life ... is it a myth or obtainable?  Well for something to be out of balance, there must have first been a balancing point.  Therefore, whatever is out of balance can be rebalanced ~ obtainable.  Just as we all have a breaking point, we all have the ability to find our balancing point.  

Our balance point comes from expressing our truth in our life.  One approach is to rid ourselves of the emotions and situations that caused initially caused the imbalance.  Yet it may be unrealistic to assume that a magic wand can be waved to bring things back into that balancing point ... many imbalances occur slowly over many years.  Inner balance is a sense of well-being ... a feeling of contentment and peace, as it should be and calmness.  Ironically, everything is always as it should be, even when we are facing difficult situations.  

So start by taking responsibility of yourself ... the key to finding balance.  To accept full responsibility for how you are feeling, what you are thinking and what you are doing.  Balance comes from YOU.  It is important to not confuse comfort with balance ... others can advise, support and encourage but you keep you in balance, and you allow this for yourself.  So it makes sense the next thought is to quit taking responsibility for others.  Stop taking on everyone else's problems.  At times, this can be a detriment to your well-being.  Again, remember help, advice, assistance, compassion and understanding can be given freely, but when other peoples issues take over your life, you need to take a step back.  This will help them learn how to be responsible for themselves.  

When you feel balanced, stepping forward in your life isn't dating.  You have complete trust in yourself.  You become fully acknowledged in those things that throw you out of balance, preparing you for the next time you encounter them.  It is not an easy task but once you do, you can take ownership of it and then it is yours to re-balance.  If it helps, you can start by writing down an imbalance list ... everything which you feel is bringing you down.  And recognize if you start blaming others or feel stuck with some items, you are not taking responsibility.

It takes commitment from ourselves to re-balance.  Consistent effort.  And as soon as we think we've dealt with and worked through all of our triggers, something else comes along which bowls us over and knocks us out of sync again.  But if practice the above, we will find it easier to recover from these as they occur and recovering from the same knocks will take less time ... eventually our foundations are solid and we can react from a point of balance, the ultimate goal.