The Tranquility of Reflection
When you first asked me if I could tell you the 5 things I thought were most important to learn in this life, I was pretty sure that either you or I was going to bullshit the other of us, I didn’t know if it was going to be that you weren’t going to really listen to what I had to say or if it was going to be me that wasn’t going to really say anything. I was positive one of the two would happen, if not both. Over time though, the question really started to take hold of me and I realized that it was an opportunity to really think about what I valued in life and to share it with someone, and not just let those thoughts roll around in my head for a while taking different forms whenever it seemed appropriate. I decided it wouldn’t be me who wasted our time; I wrote that first prologue without any idea of what the 5 things would be.
This last one, I didn’t know would be a part of this list until after I’d written the letter on communication. That’s when I realized how important reflection was. And it’s not easy to do, either. There are so many occasions in life when making an impulsive decision is so much easier. Not only making it is easier, but not thinking about the decision after you’ve made it is also easier. Not thinking is probably the easiest way to go through life and to forget you’ve gone through life at the same time.
For me, reflection provides a wealth of benefit. There have been so many experiences throughout my life that had I not reflected on them after they occurred, I would simply have forgotten they happened to me. [When you learn to reflect, to think upon the days behind and those ahead, you will start to remember your experiences with a clarity that allows you to fully utilize previous experience, especially when you find yourself in a situation that repeats some aspect of your previous experience.] You may even have more stories to tell. Unique experiences will float to your mind that relate to just about any situation that arises in the natural course of your life and that of those around you. Others will comment, “You’ve been through so much, I wish my life was that interesting.” And you will know that you haven’t gone through more, you’ve just had the benefit of reflection. Reflection enhances recollection.
There’s more. Reflection brings new wisdom to upcoming decisions. The benefit of clear-headed thinking is without parallel. As humans, our decision-making is strongly influenced by our emotional state. When we make impulsive decisions, we are guaranteed to make a decision strongly influenced by emotion. Often times, these types of decisions can lead us into situations that are unfavorable. If at least we can learn to reflect over the decisions which are a few hours or a few days away, then we greatly increase the chances that we will put ourselves in favorable positions throughout life. And for those decisions that we make impulsively, at least we will have formed the habit of reflection, and we will learn from our impulsive decisions and we will increase our ability to think on our feet.
On the other hand, without reflection all of life is in danger of becoming a pile of photographs. The memories are there, but they lack order and coherence. We might remember different experiences, but those memories may fail to bring us new wisdom.
Reflection is the binding force for all the four things which precede this letter.
I hope these letters have answered your question. At least I hope they’ve given you new things to think about or brought old things back into the light. At the VERY least, you know my mind a bit better. I’m sure if you ask someone else there will be some repeats and some new things.
Luis
8.18.08
