Radical reflection
Reflection guide: quiet rebellion in an over-scheduled world
A moment of quiet rebellion in our over-scheduled world
I came up with the idea for monthly reflections guides as a perk for paid subscribers (note: paid subscriptions were turned off as of May 21, 2024), when I was creating the Messy Human, mainly because reflection has played such a large part in my own ability to learn from my experiences, learn about myself, and take forward action as a result.
I asked for feedback on the reflection guides last month (those things I was sending out which were in a fillable PDF format that had to be downloaded).
The low level of up-take on that request led me to check my download rates, which turned out to be low. As a result, I think one of biggest hurdles to my reflection guides was that they required the download. So I’ve decided no more download-required, fillable PDFs.
The second important hurdle was that they took readers some time and quiet space to fill in, and when you have the gift of time and quiet space, there are only some occasions on which you actually want to follow someone else’s guide.
I know from my own experience that the most important thing to do with your reflection time is to TRULY, DEEPLY, HONESTLY reflect — on whatever makes sense for you at that moment, and in the way that is going to move you the most.
Note I said move you just there. I didn’t say move you forward.
Moving you might mean coming up with an action plan, but it might also mean touching a deeper vein of your inner truth in a way that makes meaning, or shifts you.
Thinking over my own big shift moments, I have now clarified a new plan for monthly reflections here at the Messy Human.
They will always leverage my hard-won core principles of Messy Humaning: 1) self acceptance, 2) gentle shifts, 3) play and connection, and 4) embracing of the cycle of being human, with all its highs and lows. For more on these four principles, read this post.
They will not necessarily involve any journaling prompts. They might… and they might also ask you to get up and move, or breathe, or close your eyes and think, or…?
They will involve urging you to do the hard thing of taking a few quiet moments for yourself in our over-scheduled world, and shifting away from the litany of personal, social and societal expectations you are no doubt encountering even as you read this.
They will push you to find your own deep inner knowing and open up to the soft, expansive part of yourself that can actually allow wonderful things in, and let hard things be easier, and open up to unexpected outcomes.
With that, I hope to raise the value of these reflection moments, even as they get less structured. With the removal of structure, we open up for more play and spontaneity. That is my hope for your gentle growth path.
As always, thank you for being a paid subscriber. Your support means the world to me. I appreciate you, and if there’s more ways the Messy Human can be of service in your life, let me know! I’m all ears.
Heading into this month’s reflection guide, I’d like you to consider if there is a situation that’s been on your mind a lot lately. Not necessarily a bad one, just something taking up space.
Reflect back, for a moment, on some of the ways it comes up for you. Where are you and when? Is it a 3AM thought? Or an idea after lunch, just before you dive into work for the afternoon? How do you feel in that moment? Just get a couple of snapshots in your mind.
This months’ reflection guide will focus on a simple question:
What would it mean to bring a curious, open, compassionate consciousness to this situation?
When I have truly learned the most about myself and made great leaps forward, it has always been through this gentle mindset of non-judgement. It has required opening up to find out what actually is going on beyond just the surface level view. Sometimes even stepping beyond my own, Marisol-centric perspective on the world.
Sit with the question for a moment and see what comes. Close your eyes and be with it, staying curious.
Some fear may arise, or some part of you may want to rebel, dancing around on a table screaming that this is terrible, stupid, or not what you want to hear at all!
Thank this part of you for trying so hard to protect you. And then gently let it go.
What do you really know? Sink in to listening. Take a deep breath. And then another. What have you allowed to come forward about this situation? Allow this new view to move you, in whatever way makes sense.
