Reflection is one antidote to the numbness
caused by cultural overload: patient, ongoing consideration
of the significance of the world to oneself. Our society
makes little room for reflection; we are so focused on
the future that thoughtful examination of the past and
present are rarely encouraged. Yet to be fruitful, reflection
must be honed through practice, it must become ritualistic.
As sociologist Mary Catherine Bateson wrote,
“Rituals use repetition to create the experience
of walking the same path again and again with the possibility
of discovering new meaning that would otherwise be invisible.”
