Lent Week 5: Reflection

Henri Nouwen once wrote, “We should spend 50% of our lives living and the other 50% reflecting on how we’ve lived.” This sounds bit extreme in the culture of the twenty-first century. We tend to live unexamined lives. We work, we play, we eat, we sleep, but very often we do not take the time to reflect back upon what we did, how we did it and whether or not it was it was in keeping with our identity as followers of Jesus Christ. Often, when we encounter a free moment, ideal for reflection or self-examination, we quickly fill it with a TV show, scroll down social media, or some other “noise.”

This kind of “slowing down” and reflecting is sometimes called mindfulness and is associated with practices such as meditation. Research shows that time spent in quiet reflection and mediation help to lower levels of stress and anxiety and lead to overall better health when undertaken on a regular basis.