A little poem by Krishnamurti that caught my eye:
In oneself lies the whole world
If you know how to look and learn,
The door is there and the key is in your hand.
In many instances, we can lose the ability to self-reflect. Sometimes it is our emotions that get in the way; we get caught up in feeling sad or angry or guilty, and we lose the ability to access our rational brain. Other times it is our core beliefs that put up road blocks; if we land in an automatic thought about ourselves it can often override our courage. And sometimes the messages that we have internalized from others can lead us away from who we truly are. Perhaps the first step in moving towards greater self-reflection is to simply be curious. To give ourselves pause and ask the question “Wait, does it have to be this way?” The act of being inquisitive, of giving ourselves permission to look inside for the answer, has the potential to bring us towards a new door, one in which we now hold the key.
Photo credit: http://Photo by CMDR Shane on Unsplash
What a doable way of self reflection. I admire the simplicity of the question and the stance of curiosity. We all have access to and experience with curiosity. Sometimes when advice involves a whole set of skills to be learned, that no one I know uses, the advice is rendered inaccessible and of no use to me. Curiosity and an elegantly simple self question is practical and hopeful.
Hi Gurlie, thanks for your comment on curiosity. When broken down like that, it doesn’t seem that hard to just be curious. 🙂