I wish my clients would just look in a mirror and think about what they are telling themselves – and me. How do they not see that they keep on doing the same things over and over whilst expecting different outcomes?”

These were the words of an exasperated psychologist who regularly blows off steam to keep herself on an even keel for her clients. What she is referring to is “reflection”.

Researchers and mental health experts have, for decades, maintained that regular introspection and living in a mindful, self-aware manner is critical to our well-being. It improves our emotional intelligence and resilience during challenging times.

According to the Dictionary box on Google, “reflection” has a three-pronged meaning. All three meanings bring me joy as they are sources of inspiration for someone in the process of becoming the full-colour version of themself. 

A reflection is …

1. an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface.
2. a thing that is a consequence of or arises from something else.
3. serious thought or consideration.

I have always believed that we are careless with our words; we underestimate how powerful they are. Let’s reflect on what it means to reflect, to look in a serious, focused manner into our inner thoughts and feelings.

Firstly, you will get to see something of yourself, but it will be vague. Paul writes to the church in Corinth that trying to understand our connection, our identity as it is connected to God, is like looking in a mirror that is distorted and dim.

The mirrors Paul writes about are the Roman copper surfaces that produced imperfect and unclear reflections. The clear type of mirrors we know were only developed in 1835. A German chemist, Justus von Liebig first applied the thin layer of metallic silver to glass in that year.

Just like the Roman “mirrors” show imperfect reflections, we have an imperfect and unclear understanding of who God is. Because of this we also don’t understand how we are meant to live our lives here on earth.

But, writes Paul, there will come a day when what we see with our spiritual eyes will be bright and in focus. We have the potential to grow in knowledge, faith and wisdom, but we need to apply ourselves in the pursuit thereof.

Perhaps your own modern mirrors make you think that Paul’s metaphor isn’t quite accurate. But even our mirrors are deceiving and switch what we see around in terms of left and right. You think you see yourself in three dimensions, but the image is actually still only two dimensional. Weird … I know …

Looking into your own heart will be equally confusing and convoluted. We do not always live from the platform of light and often default into our temperament’s weaker traits. We sometimes choose to ignore or mute the Holy Spirit, and lose our way.

Even in our seemingly bright mirrors there are small distortions that are rumoured to cause hallucinations if you stare into one for a long period of time. This is apparently being studied and has been acknowledged to be more than a myth …

Overthinking can, in the same manner, unfortunately become a disease. It can cause unease and distort your view on what should come next. It can suck you into never-ending planning, and trick you into fearfully focusing on everything that can go wrong. And when this happens, you will fail to take action.

We will have to learn and grow throughout our lifetime so that we don’t wither away and get swept away by the changing times. This means moving forward, taking action, one step after the other.

To do this we must dissect and understand what came before. In the words of Søren Kierkegaard: “Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward”.

You will need a bright light and the best quality reflective surface you can find to look into. The Word of God is both a bright light and a trustworthy mirror that brings your reflection into clear, loving and encouraging focus as you look into it.

It will lead you back to wisdom and show you the true way into the future. It will fill your heart with gratitude as it guides you to appreciate all your blessings. It will support you to repent and change.

Study the Bible as you reflect on how your year was. Use the words of hope that you find there to formulate what your next goals are and step into tomorrow with bravery despite your trepidations.

I wish my clients would just look in a mirror and think about what they are telling themselves – and me. How do they not see that they keep on doing the same things over and over whilst expecting different outcomes?”

These were the words of an exasperated psychologist who regularly blows off steam to keep herself on an even keel for her clients. What she is referring to is “reflection”.

Researchers and mental health experts have, for decades, maintained that regular introspection and living in a mindful, self-aware manner is critical to our well-being. It improves our emotional intelligence and resilience during challenging times.

According to the Dictionary box on Google, “reflection” has a three-pronged meaning. All three meanings bring me joy as they are sources of inspiration for someone in the process of becoming the full-colour version of themself.

A reflection is …

1. an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface.
2. a thing that is a consequence of or arises from something else.
3. serious thought or consideration. 

I have always believed that we are careless with our words; we underestimate how powerful they are. Let’s reflect on what it means to reflect, to look in a serious, focused manner into our inner thoughts and feelings.

Firstly, you will get to see something of yourself, but it will be vague. Paul writes to the church in Corinth that trying to understand our connection, our identity as it is connected to God, is like looking in a mirror that is distorted and dim.

The mirrors Paul writes about are the Roman copper surfaces that produced imperfect and unclear reflections. The clear type of mirrors we know were only developed in 1835. A German chemist, Justus von Liebig first applied the thin layer of metallic silver to glass in that year.

Just like the Roman “mirrors” show imperfect reflections, we have an imperfect and unclear understanding of who God is. Because of this we also don’t understand how we are meant to live our lives here on earth.

But, writes Paul, there will come a day when what we see with our spiritual eyes will be bright and in focus. We have the potential to grow in knowledge, faith and wisdom, but we need to apply ourselves in the pursuit thereof.

Perhaps your own modern mirrors make you think that Paul’s metaphor isn’t quite accurate. But even our mirrors are deceiving and switch what we see around in terms of left and right. You think you see yourself in three dimensions, but the image is actually still only two dimensional. Weird … I know …

Looking into your own heart will be equally confusing and convoluted. We do not always live from the platform of light and often default into our temperament’s weaker traits. We sometimes choose to ignore or mute the Holy Spirit, and lose our way.

Even in our seemingly bright mirrors there are small distortions that are rumoured to cause hallucinations if you stare into one for a long period of time. This is apparently being studied and has been acknowledged to be more than a myth …

Overthinking can, in the same manner, unfortunately become a disease. It can cause unease and distort your view on what should come next. It can suck you into never-ending planning, and trick you into fearfully focusing on everything that can go wrong. And when this happens, you will fail to take action.

We will have to learn and grow throughout our lifetime so that we don’t wither away and get swept away by the changing times. This means moving forward, taking action, one step after the other.

To do this we must dissect and understand what came before. In the words of Søren Kierkegaard: “Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward”.

You will need a bright light and the best quality reflective surface you can find to look into. The Word of God is both a bright light and a trustworthy mirror that brings your reflection into clear, loving and encouraging focus as you look into it.

It will lead you back to wisdom and show you the true way into the future. It will fill your heart with gratitude as it guides you to appreciate all your blessings. It will support you to repent and change.

Study the Bible as you reflect on how your year was. Use the words of hope that you find there to formulate what your next goals are and step into tomorrow with bravery despite your trepidations.