Reflection

How much time do you spend intentionally reflecting on your life? I don't mean obsessing in the background while chopping carrots. I mean sitting quietly and simply thinking about life and the path through it.

Writers do this sort of thing all the time. Keeping a journal is the first step for many people who learn the art of creative reflection. Formulating ideas into words is a method of disciplining the mind and body to produce a coherent expression of internal experience. I see glimpses of this on my Facebook feed. A few regular posters journal their lives sporadically.

Reflection is an important part of my own daily practice. It is tied to my use of daily meditation. The two processes are complementary. 

The actions and decisions to act that come out of my practice are determined by reflection and meditation rather than reflex and/or reaction. Learning to regularly reflect trains my mind to take that crucial space for thought before acting in most cases. I am an animal. I do still react reflexively sometimes, however I am finding that I am more mindful in each moment with commitment to practice. 

The intentional life begins with education and becomes practical with reflection and meditation. The life of a practical humanist is an intentional life based in peace and justice. Mindfulness in the moment and developed habits of compassion bring humanism into intention. The thoughtful and giving life is the peaceful and just life. Reflecting on the naked truth of my own capacity or incapacity to love is at the heart of my mindfulness. Reflecting on my common mortality which binds me to all living beings opens my mind to compassion, even under the most difficult circumstances.