Thursday, November
17, 2016
Yesterday I wrote about living
reflectively without ever defining what that means. And so today I’d like
to take up the subject more fully by seeking answers to this question:
What does it mean to live reflectively? I offer you 9 points.
1. First
and foremost it means carving out time for silence and solitude in even the
busiest of days. Silence and solitude are necessities, not luxuries.
2. To
live reflectively, we need to be able to see beyond appearances.
3. To
live reflectively, we need to learn control the quick impulses, snap judgments
and automatic reactions to things we see or hear or read about.
4. To
live reflectively, we need to nourish our spirits with good reading,
music or conversation on a regular basis.
5. To
live reflectively, we need to dialogue internally with the things that
happen in our lives. What is this particular event, or disappointment, or
insight saying to me right now? Is God speaking to me through this person? What
is there for me to learn from all this?
6. To
live reflectively, we need to develop a greater sensitivity to signs of joy or
pain in those around us.
7. To
live reflectively, we need to become more honest about our own personal
character defects, to learn to recognize when we are speaking or acting
out of these defects, and to ask God to help us remove them from our lives.
8. To
live reflectively, we need to increase our capacity to see clearly, to hear
what others are saying—that is,
to follow the admonition of St. Benedict to “listen with the ear of our hearts.”
9. To
live reflectively, we need to follow the example of the Blessed Mother who “treasured
all these things (=what had been happening in her life) and reflected on them
in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
Perhaps you can add to this list.
I would appreciate it if you could send me your own thoughts on the matter, and
if I get enough feedback, I will publish what I receive in a later reflection.
God bless you!
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