September Recap
September is one of my favourite times of the year - not only because it marks the start of Autumn which is my favourite season - it also, for me, marks a period of starting anew. I know alot of people think the only time for renewal or revitalisation is the new year or spring - however I find that you can actually discover many periods of fresh starts throughout the year and for me September is one of them.
For a large part of my life September meant the start of a new academic year. A chance to get reorganised, restructure my priorities and set the mood for the next year. Even though I am not in school anymore and don’t plan to ever be again anytime soon, I think there’s something refreshing about carrying this attitude on into my adult life. Finding opportunities to re-evaluate ourselves, our goals and our aspirations is such an important part of self-growth and self-awareness.
Throughout September I was trying to work more on my self-awareness and my understanding of others. In a moment of anger or sadness I may feel like I am the one who has been wronged or jaded. However, majority of the time in life there is not always a hero and a villian. It is so easy to feel like the world is being unfair to you or that you’re right and you’re the “good” person in this difficult situation.
It really helps to put things in perspective for me when I remove myself from these situation and think about things objectively. What would I think of this situation if I wasn’t directly involved? How would I feel as the different people involved in this situation? Is it still justifiable for me to be upset? Yes of course it is. Is it justifiable for the other person to be upset? Of course, they have a right to feel upset too. Should I always automatically think that I am right and they are wrong? No. Life isn’t always black and white. And difficult situations and conflicts aren’t always easily resolved. However you can make it easier on yourself and others to be more self-aware and empathetic of their feelings.
Whenever I start to feel that I am the only possible person who is right. I stop myself and think of the following illustration… Person A is dangling off a cliff edge - holding on to person B’s hand who is lying down on top of the cliff. To person A, it seems that person B is in no immediate danger so why are they taking so long to help them up? Little does the person A know that person B has a large boulder crushing their legs and they are thinking I am in pain - why are they so angry that my efforts are not enough - I am trying with all the strength I have right now.
So why in situations of conflict are we so quick to judge? Why are we so stubborn to think that we are right all the time? It’s because we don’t take the time to look at things objectively and we let our emotions cloud our judgement. Even though we may think it is important to hold on to things - it is equally as important to let things go. Let go of judgement, let go of stubbornness and start living a free, more self-aware life.
