Daily Gratitude: My favorite photos are those which have reflections. For some reason they pull me in. Perhaps that’s a reflection (pun intended) on where I am at mentally and emotionally in my life. We often see our thoughts (the mental part) reflected in our actions and emotions. And that’s a good thing. If the water (the usual means by which things are reflected) is still and smooth, there’s a greater likelihood that the reflection will be an accurate one. If, however, there are some – or even just one- ripples on the surface of the water, the reflection will be distorted. The question is how do we know when the surface is rippled? I think we know by the turbulence we’re either experiencing in life’s daily events or in our feelings (such as feeling unsettled or anxious). Those would be indications to me. Then I would enter within (and often that’s a scary proposition) and see if I can figure out what’s the deeper cause of all the turmoil. I have a part (IFS) that wants me to take a nap and causes me to be so sleepy I can’t resist. I am learning that this is a powerful part that doesn’t want me to have to feel and is very afraid that I will start feeling more. But it’s funny. Whenever I try to nap, another part takes over – the tennis player. This part is just hitting balls lobbed to it by the ball machine. It simply keeps tossing thought after thought over the net. This prevents me from sleeping. But guess what, it also prevents me from feeling because I feel like I’m at Wimbledon watching the ball go back and forth- once again not allowing me the time to feel anything. I think that I have to reassure these parts that I have grown (remember they are usually developed when we are young) and can handle feeling things. All this was a verbose way of letting you know that if the waters aren’t still and are showing a less than sharp reflection, it’s time to go within (using whatever method works for you. For me it’s IFS) and see what’s going on inside. Yes someone may have thrown a stone into the water to make it rippled but that stone and that person are part of your experience and they are trying to tell you something too. You just need to listen more.