Equal Measure

Sometimes in life, circumstances present themselves which surprise you, stimulate you, make you stretch and grow, and know yourself on a deeper level than before.  I have always believed firmly that you learn not from the situations themselves, but from your reaction to them.  How you move within them, and how the space becomes defined and delineated by your actions provides the most important aspect of the experience.  It is what you do, not what is done to you that causes the growth.

You can never hope to control the world around you.  It spins on its own axis as you spin on yours.  The best you can hope for is to control your reactions to things, to be mindful of how you behave, to have some foresight to possible consequences of your actions, and to deliberately make up your mind to act in a way that best serves your needs and the needs of those present in your life. By combining critical thinking, deliberate action, and then introspection, a person can learn a great deal about herself as well as go through life evenly and smoothly as possible.

Lately, I have been rethinking this particular philosophy. It seems to me to be limiting in allowing a person true knowledge, deep understanding of oneself. Sometimes not thinking about things, but just going with the sensation of them provides learning opportunities too.  I am one of those people dominated by my thoughts.  I over think things and forget to feel. I fail to ride out my emotions and experience the sensory input that life gives me.  I stop feeling with thought. On certain occasions one should be a feeling being and not a thinking one.  Emotions provide just as much potential for self-discovery as do thoughts and actions.  I should remember this more often because I have had some situations and instances recently while not completely devoid of sentient thought have been more directed by sensation and emotion.  Through them,  I have come to realize some profound truths about myself.

Finding yourself can be difficult and we should avail ourselves of whatever opportunities come our way to dig a little deeper, to feel a little more, to think acutely and critically about ourselves.  Discovering and integrating all the aspects of your personality, your preferences, your limitations and your dreams is liberating and it is something I hope to achieve someday by thinking and feeling and reacting in equal measure.