I think of myself as a reflective person. I like to learn new things. I am always trying to puzzle out relationships. I also like that I spend time thinking about how I am living and how I make a contribution to the world.

One of my favourite daily practices is reading by the fire in the mornings. Gary and I sit with our respective books and cups of hot coffee. Often we move from quiet introspection to lively conversation about what we are reading or what we have been thinking about. At the end of these conversations I feel enlivened.

Recently we have been engaged in a process of examining the reflective practices at the Bridgepoint Center for Eating Disorders where we work as facilitators. This very progressive program has adopted a reflective practice as a part of its ongoing program evaluation.

Although we have always invited reflection on the part of participants, we have been developing new ways to facilitate reflective practice. Part of our role has been to review program practices that foster reflection among the participants. This has led to many early morning discussions. It has also caused me to become more intentionally reflective.

For many years I have paused each morning to give thanks for my life. I notice that I have begun to extend this private practice to include a declaration about how I plan to live each day. It isn’t very complicated; I simply say to myself, “How will you choose to live today?” My answer is usually something like, “I will do my work with a good heart.” Sometimes I am more specific (e.g., “I will finish this essay without complaint”).

My intention is to engage more fully in all aspects of my life. I want to be more present for even the most mundane activities. I also want to be present and available for my friends and family. I believe that my intention will result in greater creativity in all aspects of my life.

One thing that I am doing more of is focusing on one thing at a time. In the past I was an accomplished multi-tasker. I could easily do several things at once without any apparent compromise to the quality of my work. Over the past few years my interest in multi-tasking has diminished. Clearly if I want to be more present and engaged in my life I will need to eliminate multi-tasking from my repertoire.

I have noticed that as I become more intentionally reflective and focused I also become kinder. I am kinder to myself. I set more reasonable goals for myself. I am less critical and more aware of my own life experience. I think I also laugh more.

Thinking about reflective practice and practicing reflection has enriched my life. I marvel at how a small shift in my attention can have such positive benefits. Perhaps you will practice more reflection in your life. Who knows what positive benefits we could derive if we all were just a little more reflective? It is something to think about.

© C O P Y R I G H T   2 0 0 6.  Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.