As I was driving the other day, I was thinking about my need for reflection, for looking back.
I need time after events, conversations, books, and the like to reflect, to absorb, to process and learn, otherwise my experiences just drop out of sight with little or no consequence, or even memory for that matter!
Cameras are nice for capturing some things, so I take a lot of pictures, and reflect on them later.
Here are some thoughts that come to mind about reflecting:
Harry Nielsson wrote a song suggesting "Life is just a memory." Think about it. So much of who we know ourselves to be is what we remember.
When we stop to reflect, we allow our experiences to be absorbed, to become a part of us, or be shaken off if they shouldn't be a part of us.
When we stop to reflect, we have time to remember who and what are most important to us, and who and what are not.
When we stop to reflect, we can recount things that didn't work out so we don't repeat mistakes. We may also realize we ran over someone, and need to go back and help them back up.
Every once in a while I hear someone misuse Phillipians 3:13 "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead" as an excuse to plow ahead without dealing with the past. It makes me a little nutty.
We musn't allow ourselves to be defined by our past (what Paul is speaking about here), but we sure can learn from it and allow it to shape us for a better future, and in turn help shape others.
Are you moving too fast to truly value and absorb what's important to you? Are you running ahead to avoid dealing with the past?