Tag Archives: self-awareness

Time to take a little time out?

As the world opens up to us with the travel opportunities our grandparents or parents could never even dream of, we still neglect what is possibly the greatest journey of our lives. That journey of self discovery and self awareness.

That terrifying journey to look into our souls, to understand what drives us, what makes us who we are, to understand our needs and wants and explore those dark places where all our fears and insecurities lie.

Reflection seems something we do not dedicate enough time to, we live in a world so full of instant distractions that we are easily able to avoid looking into us. I sit and look around the apartment I live in, I can see a thousand things I’d rather be doing than even typing this blog now. There is a TV, a games console, a book, a laptop. All very modern day distractions but what joy do they in fact bring us.

I can remember for many years I always felt the need to be the alpha male at any table I sat at and would compete for attention with anyone there. I had an epiphany a few years later, that I really didn’t enjoy that at all and I was much more comfortable sitting back and letting others fulfil this role. Did I enjoy the attention at the time, probably, but you then start to question why? Everyone likes to be loved in life that much seems true but the realisation came to me that, that wasn’t the only way.

It seems to me the more we look into ourselves the more we understand what makes us truly happy, what we truly need in our lives and although the road there can be an arduous and horrendous there seems to be a bright light at the other side. A light that guides us into our future, but a brighter future than we could ever have experienced before.

So the question becomes what do I enjoy it life? What truly makes me happy? Why do I act the way I do in certain situations? They are not easy questions and I could easily give very superficial answers to all of them and I probably do day in and day out to people who ask me.

Let’s just deal with one of those here, what truly makes me happy?

The answer is living in the moment, enjoying the moments when they arise, the times that you smile at someone and see their face light up and smile back that connection even if its just for 5 seconds, that feeling of achievement when there has been a struggle involved to get there, my cycle to work along the Yarra as the morning sun glints off the water, that amazing feeling of togetherness in a crowded stadium as your team edges out a close game and them moments when i’m alone and I feel completely content with everything in the world around me.

Life is one big collection of these moments, our memories don’t play back our whole lives, they just catch snippets of our memorable times, whether these be good or bad.

Maybe we should take a little time out to reflect on ourselves?

IJS 04/07/2014