Reflect and Ponder to Learn and Evolve

Dialogues

“[Allah] grants wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant good. And none will remember except those of understanding.” (Al-Baqarah 2:269)

When a person carefully reflects on the events that have befallen him in life, and ponders them by logically linking them to their true causes, outcomes, and subsequent consequences, he gains deeper insight.

Those who engage in continuous reflection and contemplation will learn more from their own experiences and the experiences of others than anyone else, and they will develop their thinking and behavior. Among the matters one should reflect upon and contemplate, with the aim of acquiring wisdom in life, are the following:

- Reflecting on and contemplating methods of dealing with oneself: A prudent and rational person repeatedly examines the affairs of his life to ponder the results or consequences of his interactions with himself. He will improve his life when he connects his habitual behaviors with what they have revealed about his attitude toward himself, whether he values or devalues himself, and whether he has neglected his responsibilities toward his mind, heart, and body. He should occasionally ask himself the following questions: When was the last time I gave my mind and body the rest they deserve? What are the habitual behavioral patterns that have caused me psychological and physical suffering over the past months and years? How can I improve the ways I treat myself, which have rights upon me?

- Reviewing relationships: The wise person examines his various relationships with the intention of purifying them from toxicity, and reflects on the relationships that have benefited or harmed him personally over the years. He elevates the status of the truthful and loyal, and severs ties with those who have harmed him through their negativity, stinginess, or exploitative behavior. You are not required to maintain what you have confirmed corrupts your life.

- Reflecting on and contemplating the lessons of your life: Only a rational person can truly benefit from his own life lessons, as they reflect the personal family and social experiences he has undergone. More precisely, what will genuinely aid and contribute to his personal development is his careful reflection and serious contemplation on his own experiences, because they stem from his nature, behaviors, and voluntary responses. He strives to learn from them to develop his personality, as they reveal aspects of himself that may have been hidden from him. And Allah knows best.

A Kuwaiti writer