Opinion Articles

SOUL MATTERS: Getting balance between living, reflecting
By Tracey Edstein

“The unreflected life is the life not worth living,” said Socrates over three millennia ago.

While not everybody today believes in the value of reflecting on their lives, it is certainly not because of a lack of available sources, suggestions and strategies for thinking about ourselves, our relationships, our ethics and values, our spiritual beliefs and even the after-life.

Newspapers and magazines, radio and television, the internet and email bombard us with strategies and ideas on the best way to reflect on a daily basis. From breakfast television to blogs; from the “thought for the day” in diaries to inspirational lines found in many email signatures; from authors of self-help books to radio talk-back with experts on any aspect of life imaginable, we are beset with suggestions about how to live. And we mustn’t forget the cult of the inspirational person – often one who’s overcome adversity – from whom we seem to have an almost overwhelming desire to learn how to better live our own lives.

The over-abundance of information about how to engage in the natural yet challenging act of living life can be overwhelming for many. And we bring our consumerist mentality to the notion of reflection, changing our approaches and gurus like we change washing powder or breakfast cereal. Often somewhat desperately, we try whatever we hope will bring us to that ultimate point in our life where all will be just as we wish it to be. And, when the inevitable tragedy or misfortune comes our way, surely we’ll be well-equipped to cope with it!

It is easy to be drawn into the trap of being so busy reflecting on how to live that one is distracted from the very act and essence of living. At the same time as advocating the necessity for reflection to aid self-awareness and growth, spiritual writers and philosophers also laud the necessity of living now, in the moment. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh writes, “Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle.”

If Socrates lived today, perhaps he’d say that “The over-inspired-and-constantly- reflected-upon life is worth little and is impossible to live.”

Presumably, the insights of Socrates - and others through the ages – have been gained through experience, reflection and absorbing the wisdom of those who have gone before. Reflection is important – many argue essential – but it ought not be at the expense of living the life from which reflection springs and which it has the potential to enrich, even transform.

One challenge is not to discount our own wisdom in coming to terms with the myriad ideas that surround us; to find the balance between experiencing life and contemplating it; between feeling the feelings and reflecting upon them.

As John Farnham sings in “Age of Reason”,

If we consider carefully the options put before us
So much wisdom, so much love, so much waiting for us…

Tracey Edstein

Tracey is the editor of Aurora, the magazine of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.