Reflections

‘the spiritual element’

Birthdays, anniversaries, New Year’s Eve/Day, Christmas, Eid, Diwali – what do all these have in common?

whenever we reach a certain milestone, or experience a great change in our life…we reflect on what has transpired

Besides potential food, fireworks + festivities, they all prompt some form or level of definitive reflection, right? Whenever we reach a certain milestone, or experience a great change in our life – be it a loss, gain, or change in circumstances – we reflect on what has transpired.

Understanding

To explain this process, I have inserted the DIKW Pyramid below as a visual aid, and will provide commentary on the diagram’s components.

When an event, milestone or experience has transpired, we reflect to acknowledge + appreciate any subsequent learning + changes, and use this to implement measures to adapt and move forward. In other words, we generate an understanding of any past relevant experience(s) to determine how to approach our future (‘Understanding’ on the x-axis). We do this by breaking down certain moments or phases of the experience in question, and generate a big picture (‘Context’ on the y-axis) of what the specific experience and relevant context means to us.

As we are researching-absorbing-doing-interacting (i.e. generating ‘Understanding’, x-axis; or to put it simply, living daily and undertaking various experiences), we are continuously generating these meanings.

we are continuously generating these meanings

We also exercise this process through reflecting. But in my view, what makes this step of reflection unique is metaphorically stepping back, casting an overview of the whole context and clearly identifying these meanings. We are engaging in an activity that enables us to acknowledge + appreciate the significance + substance of these meanings.

This process of meaning generation can potentially manifest itself in the emotions, feelings + moods we experience, the people we form relationships with, our sense of belonging + purpose, the values we place on moments, and the habits, traits, qualities, beliefs and capacities we develop over time.

In short, meanings are at the core of our existence and woven into the tapestry of our identity. They are the ever-evolving essence of who we are, and shape how well we are living.

Disclaimer

I am no expert on the DIKW Pyramid, and cannot pinpoint it to a specific author as the research I have done has associated the model with several writers spanning the last several decades.

Furthermore, I can’t be certain on whether I’ve completely understood the various understandings and applications of the model, because as is human nature and common in academia, there are variations along with multiple critiques.

However, I think it’s a useful and thought-provoking diagram to demonstrate the potential steps and processes we undertake to generate understanding + meanings in our lives.

Proactive

My first + definitive reflective encounter when I was young was verbal, and the person this interaction unfolded with told me I had a knack for seeing the big picture of everything going on in my life (thank you). I have since embraced this capacity for reflecting and ran wild with it, expressing it through a range of mediums throughout my youth and beyond.

I have since embraced this capacity for reflecting and ran wild with it

#REFLECTIONS spawn, shape and slice my decisions, interests, ideas, thoughts, values, beliefs and curiosities. I believe that, with time + exercise my propensity to capture the big picture has grown. So has my ability to appreciate innumerable intricate details, which is a wonderful, creative, and enriching journey that is forever evolving.

Hence, I believe it is important that we move beyond having reactive definitive reflections in our life, where a certain event and milestone prompts us to analyse and evaluate specific experiences and the relevant context – largely because it is the norm. Instead, I believe we should be creative + proactive in undertaking definitive reflections through whatever medium we like, be it alone or with others, in any place at a time that is right for you.

be creative + proactive in undertaking definitive reflections through whatever medium we like

Catharsis (Emotional Processing)

‘dealing with feeling and giving it meaning’

I like to define emotional processing as ‘dealing with feeling and giving it meaning’. It rolls off the tongue and captures it well by definition and action.

Our FEELINGS reveal to us things about ourselves and all the phenomena around us. They channel and paint the understanding we have of everything, and INFORM our daily decision-making more than we realise, regardless of how much we try to be purely rational + objective.

Feelings are a fundamental form of the data-information-knowledge referenced in the DIKW Pyramid, and as discussed, we then utilise these experiences to give all phenomena, including ourselves, meaning, THEREAFTER.

Yet we don’t simply deal with feeling cognitively, by doing some thinking + coming up with an apt meaning. No. We PROCESS it. It is both a cognitive and emotive undertaking that doesn’t happen immediately, like solving a word puzzle or mathematic equation. Heck, for many people, dealing with feelings, processing them, is a lifelong journey, and that’s OK.

I firmly believe that we MUST process it as a form of maintenance, as CATHARSIS. When living we engage + exercise with the phenomena around us, and this requires maintenance if we are to keep doing this over time.

The frequent compress + recoil of our springs induces wear and tear that can build tension within us, and we thus need mediums where we can filter + flush out the residue. So #REFLECTIONS can therefore be meditative, therapeutic, relieving, refreshing, cleansing, and purifying.

meditative, therapeutic, relieving, refreshing, cleansing, and purifying

Absorption

At the source of all of this is energy. Call it human spirit, the soul, psyche, or even make reference to physiology and the body’s physical capacities. It’s all human energy. My notion of #REFLECTIONS thus captures both the idea of reflective thinking, and the act of reflection:

“…as in casting back a light or heat, mirroring, or giving back or showing an image; the state of being reflected in this way”

“an image; representation; counterpart”

“the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it”

I believe that when engaging in #REFLECTIONS, we generate a greater understanding of our lives AND absorb our own energy (emotions, values, experiences, etc.). We are giving back to ourselves. It is what makes material reflection (as defined above) and human reflection DISTINCT.

It is a creative process as #REFLECTIONS provide us with a time and space to filter, refuel, wind down, reboot, remix, recycle, and refresh, utilising everything that we possess within us, in that moment.

We don’t need anything material, just ourselves to engage our various, internal capacities. This absorption of energy is the driver + outcome of the catharsis we crave to sustain our condition of existence, to fulfil the needs + elements we value most.

I believe that when engaging in #REFLECTIONS,
we generate a greater understanding of our lives AND *absorb* our own energy

Revised March 2022

#drBACKPACKsREFLECTIONS

The following articles feature this element. Click on the title to have a read: