Reflection.

So, last week I had a Birthday. I turned 45.

I cannot believe I am 45. When I thought of 45 while growing up, I know I didn’t think of it as “OLD”, but I did think of it as an age where you should be grown up & mature. Most of the time I don’t feel so grown up or mature. But, I think if you asked my friend’s kids who are in there teens or 20s – they’d say I was a grown-up at least.

At 45, I figured I most likely be a parent, surely not a grandparent so young.  BUT, my grandmother was a one at 40, and I have friends who are already grandparents. I’m not even a mother.

So Birth Day = Reflection.


It seems like there are 5 occasions when I know I definitely stop & reflect. Of course there are other times, but I know I usually do some in-depth reflection of life in general around the New Year, My Birthday, deaths, births, and when someone gets really sick.

When I think of Reflection & what it really is, these lines from the song “Reflection”, written by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel from the Disney movie, Mulan come to mind…

“Who is that girl I see
staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
who I am inside?”

It’s hard when you don’t truly feel you know who you are inside. There are things about yourself that you would like to believe are true. But, it’s hard to define for most people, I think.

Also, since we ARE different with different people and it also depends on the circumstances of what is actually going on at the time – I don’t think we can ever truly define who we are although some people believe they can.

Can you?

For the most part, I think I am who I am (thank you Popeye) with most people, most of the time – whether it’s with family, at work or in a social situation.

I’ve been doing a lot of stopping & refocusing to consciously “Be in the Now” and to be aware of my thinking and attitude at that specific time and place that I’m in.

If something or someone puts me off kilter, aggravates me, or gets me into a negative or apathetic mood, I literally Stop and work to refocus my thoughts and energies on something positive & light.

There are so many “Personal Growth” books that have you define key areas that are in all our lives - a lot of them ask you to grade, reflect or define the order of importance and ask you how you see yourself at that time or even in the past – usually it’s part of whatever the process, exercise or chapter is on.

Here are some Lifetime Values/Key Life Areas for Reflection that you may want to spend some time on when you get in the mood to do so:

• Home & Family
• Health & Fitness
• Mental development & Education
• Work, Career, & Finances
• Social life & Relationships
• Character, Integrity, Ethics & Virtues
• Emotion control & development
• Daily habits & routines
• Life purpose & contribution
• Spiritual development

As for me, I spend some time on all of them – sometimes at the same time (totally understandable if you read my last Blog post ;)) – so it all gets muddled and then I’m onto some new thought.

And, I like to think that when it really comes down to it, everything has to do with your Relationship and Commitment in each of these areas – some are more important to you, some less – but as with everything else in life…it changes over time and you change. Now there’s something to really reflect on.