Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
~ Henry David Thoreau
We can not discover ourselves without looking. Also, we need to know what we are looking for and why we are looking for it. Why do we make the choices that we do? How much of our lives are based on self-destructive patterns that, without reflection, we tend to repeat? When we face a serious life crisis or challenge, it affords us the chance to sit down and truly reflect on ourselves. Do you like the person looking back at you from the mirror? Why or why not? What are our goals, why are they our goals and are they realistic? Oftentimes, this requires a stiff honesty with ourselves, and we may not be happy with what we see. This is another reason why mindfulness can help us: the past is the past and can not be changed, the future is the future and never happens, leaving us with the present. This is good because the present is all we have control over. While we may wear shackles of previous decisions, it is in the present that we are able to transform our selves and our situation. Just looking can be a shot in the dark. With reflection and guidance, perhaps we can ascertain that which we truly aspire to and separate those things which really matter from those self-limiting or toxic aspects of our lives.
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