Cycling

Today is a beautiful day, as all days seem to be here in lovely Niagara.  It's a bit chilly, and outside my window a few yellow leaves float down now and then. Truly, summertime is behind us and the shortening days of autumn lie before us.

I love this time of year.  I enjoy the dark nights closing in earlier and earlier.  After summer's heat, the autumn chill is welcome.  And who isn't glad to see the fresh apples, corn and other harvest vegetables at the market!

It's an appropriate time of year to reflect on the blessings we have received. Note that I didn't say give thanks but reflect on the blessings.  Reflecting is the important part.

Reflection is a pastime of bygone days, when people had time for it.  I'm not the first to notice that despite all the technology and labor-saving tools we use as a matter of course, we have less leisure time than our ancestors did.  In those days of slow, painstaking work, connection was less regular and immediate than it is now.

In contrast, we have not only instant communication but what is very nearly constant communication.  Emails, tweets, and texts make telephoning and letter-writing rather rare.  All those communications - not to mention live feeds from people and news organizations we follow - leave us 'on' just about all day and night.  It's hard to complete a task without frequent interruptions, and it's hard to ignore them when they break in on us.

Reflection is one of the many casualties of our powered-up, high-speed age.  Who has time simply to be, observing what is around you, enjoying the present moment?   What difference does it make, anyway?

To sit or take a walk with no purpose other than to sit or walk seems like a waste of time unless we have some device what we can use to connect with the world.  It isn't, though.  It's more important than we realize.

You may be thinking, "Ah, mindfulness.  Living in the moment, yes."  No.

Mindfulness is a wonderful thing, as is the appreciation of every moment we are granted.  That may be where you begin, when you set tasks aside to begin the work of reflection.

As you sit, as you observe, you may be aware of thoughts gently floating in and out of mind, scarcely disturbing the flow of the moment.  True, it may feel like wasting time.

As you persist though, the present moment recedes and becomes part of a vast succession of moments.  As you allow them to come together, you become more aware of the flow of moments in your life and the patterns they create and follow.  As you observe each moment taking its place as part of the whole of your life, new understandings become possible.

We observe a leaf falling and become aware of the fragility of life.  We draw our collar closed against the chill and recall that the year is nearing its end, viewing our accomplishments with satisfaction or sadness.  We become aware of how we feel and realize that we don't want to continue feeling that way - and feel it so deeply that we take a step toward changing our life.

And as we continue to reflect, we find not only the understanding and direction we need but also the strength to act on it.  In this way, reflection becomes a powerful tool for our spiritual development and personal growth.