WE93: Introspection is the Key to So Much
My life was so utterly chaotic until I learned of the healing, restorative, preventative, redemptive, and powerful importance of honest introspection. Of course, when I saw prompt #4 presented in the Weekend Engagement post today I knew was a chance to live the fantasy of changing society through the gift of introspection.
It has been my experience over the last couple of decades that there are few personal or relational problems that cannot be completely resolved through the practice of unflinching introspection. Now I am not referring to glancing at one's self occasionally to make sure that you are falling within societal norms for the time period, no that is too easy and ineffectual. The task I am presenting before you is the unflinching, deep-dive into our shortcomings, failures, successes, pros, cons, loves, hates, and every minutia in-between. It is hard, it pains our souls to shine the light on all the bad that may reside in us, but it is the purest path to self-awareness and self-awareness is the golden ticket to a path of contentment. For until you truly and honestly understand all of your weaknesses and pain, you will be unable to find happiness, contentment, lasting success, or be able to love others until you love yourself.
So, if I were to be able to change society it would be to give the give of acute introspection to everyone on the planet. I have experienced, first-hand the transformative balm that lies at the root of discovering and accepting your faults, for only then can you make a healthy plan to counteract those things that may be a detriment to them and metamorphize them into the building blocks of successful behaviors. If you are unable to be open and honest with yourself, how in the world will you ever be truly open to anyone? And transparency is the cornerstone of any relationship whether it is in business, society, a marriage, or a friendship. Being honest about who you are and what you have to offer will allow you to be open and fulfilled in your relationships with others. Knowing your weaknesses not only allows you to work on developing them but it has the benefit of making you acutely aware and appreciative of your strengths, talents, and beneficial traits to utilize more efficiently.
We all possess the potential for greatness and for evil and until we intimately know the volume of each in our soul we have no metric to balance these opposing forces. Possessing the potential for evil does not make one evil, but denying that it exists in you is no different than embracing it. It is an imperative that one face ALL that resides in their soul to really, really "know" who they are. And once you have the complete knowledge of who you are you can more clearly anticipate who you are meant to be and the blistering path that will get you to that glorious destination of your own true identity and then you will wield the power of immortality and the universe. For know force is more powerful than a man who has acknowledged what is within him and discovered how best to harness all of those attributes and demons.
Wow, that come off a bit more heavy than I intended lololol Let me finish up by simply saying that there is such a beautiful, beautiful peace to be found in self-awareness and you cannot trust anyone to be as honest with you as you can be with yourself. You have the key to all you can be in the mirror.......but you have to LOOK at it long and hard and often to reach the potential you possess. Thank you so much if you made it this far. What are your thoughts? Am I right? Am I crazy? Probably a bit of both....lololol Let me know your opinion in the comments and remember that I love you all and each of you are saturated with value and worth!
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien
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Hello there! I hope you're well.
Thank you for this thoughtful, well-written take on this Weekend's topic. I enjoyed it, particularly for being in tune with my mood and thoughts today. I've been doing some (a lot) of introspective work lately, and I agree with you on the benefits of this practice. It would be a very valuable gift to humanity and to society. I'd like to think it would make a considerable, valuable impact. Still...
I can't help but think that introspection alone isn't the whole answer. Speaking from my own experience, there are a lot of aspects of myself I see very clearly, so much so that the sight even hurts sometimes, you know? And I've found myself sometimes in a rut. What to do next, when you've turned your eyes inwards? Of course, there are as many answers as humans populating the Earth. Just felt like throwing the question out there.
Long story short, you're not crazy at all for wanting humanity to exert the very thing that makes us different from other animals: the ability to reflect back into our own existence and consciusness. It's the way it should be. If we didn't have all the noise we've created around us...
Be well and stay safe. Have a nice weekend and see you around!
Thank you so very much for coming by and taking the time to comment. Your comments are always so reflective and thought-provoking
I absolutely know...it is near impossible to look into ourselves and not feel pain at some of what we see. There is much in me that causes me pain and that I wish were not there. But by knowing it is there, acknowledging that it may be the reason I react certain ways or that I am susceptible to addictions or that I have the propensity to unhealthy impulsiveness has been the ultimate tool in fighting these deficiencies and given me the wisdom to craft a lifestyle better equipped to be successful on my path.
I definitely don't have all the answers and it does take so much more than just looking inward, but in my understanding of introspection is it not just the looking, but the summation of looking, processing, taking steps to mitigate the horrors I may see, and develop plans to make me a firmer foundation to work from.
Thank you again so much for coming by, I love to read your comments.
Oh, yes, planning is key. Another word that has been circling my mind today for some reason! And you're right, introspection is so much more than just looking inward.
Kudos to you for doing the work and putting in the effort. It's not easy at all so I admire that. I'm sure you've come to be a better version of yourself.
By the way, that pain I mentioned... Well, I'm a bit touched in the head, and I see so much beauty in the process of humans realizing how flawed and fallible we are. And when we're honest about it, even more.
I just remembered I once wrote a little something about ending up cross-eyed from trying to keep an eye on the outer world while still searching for answers within. And what I cherish the most about that memory is the place where I sat down to write: an old stone bridge located deep into the gardens of the campus I went to. One of the most peaceful places I've ever visited!
Not sure why that's relevant but felt like sharing it 😅
We are ALL a bit touched in the head to varying degrees and there is beauty to be found just about anywhere we look. Coming to terms with how fragile and flawed we are as a species is such a spectacular epiphany of truth that there is no way for it to NOT be beautiful.
You keep hitting it out of the park with these topics mate, I appreciate your effort, insightful and intelligent thought.
nah, i just sit really really quite and whisper to myself "What would Galen say????" lololol
Thank you so much for the kind words and for the support on my posts, it is greatly appreciated!
Lol, he's a polite dude and would probably have a mouthful of donut and coffee so, would probably say nothing, until he had an empty mouth and then...Well, let's not hold him accountable huh? 😁
Very interesting publication. Many times we think we don't have time for ourselves and that's why we don't check ourselves internally. In just one minute a day in solitude we should question our actions, think about what we did right, what we did wrong, in what way we did it, why we did it.
Introspection can give us many solutions to our problems and helps us to know our potential and our weaknesses.
You have said a great truth:
We all without exception have done bad things, but knowing evil makes us in a way to be more mature, to have more responsibility, and not to repeat again a behavior that can harm someone else.
Excellent post and very reflective. Regards
Thank you so much for the kind words and for the thoughtful comment. I am as guilty as anyone of getting to caught up in my day to day life and neglect the importance of looking inward, but every time I do, I find myself straying off my trusted path.