Castles of Reflection

Nov 28

What castles are you creating from your reflections?

The quiet lakeside photograph speaks volumes.

The castle represents all you want to achieve during your limited time on this spinning planet. Examine the photo. Think of the still water as a reflection of the daily race you run. The furiously relentless hamster wheel as you check boxes marked ‘career’, ‘family’, ‘fitness’, ‘finances’, ‘friends’, ‘faith’, ‘frivolity’ and ‘weekend fun.’

You and I may dream of different castles, but they symbolize what occupies most of our thoughts and emotions. Whether we’re feeling up or down on any given day depends on the progress we’re making on the castles we are trying to build.

“Is it ever a bad idea to take time to be alone, stare at the ocean, wander in the woods and ask, ‘Where am I going? ‘Why am I doing this? ‘Who is this for?”

Without reflection, it’s damn easy to operate on autopilot. Drown in daily minutia. Blindly follow a path that may not add meaningful bricks and mortar to our concept of what the ideal castle looks like.

Reflection is one of those precious gifts we can only give ourselves. Can’t outsource it. Can’t type it in on a keyboard and ask A.I. From what I understand, masters of humanity that date back to Rumi, Confucious and Socrates all say the same thing. You and I can’t see our reflection in the rushing waters of the mighty Bow River.

Only in still water.

Alone with our thoughts.

Observing nature.

Connecting new dots with fresh air thinking.

Gaining unusual clarity on what’s required to pursue your Personal Legend and build that castle you dream of.

“A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature”

— HENRY DAVID THOREAU

For anyone sincerely interested in living a life of significance, reflection brings future possibilities, risks and potential scenarios into sharper focus. That’s why quiet reflection augmented by inspiration from those who have ‘been there, done that’ is always helpful.

By many measures, best-selling author and speaker Seth Godin qualifies as a living legend. His latest book ( #22, entitled “This Is Strategy”) is rapidly challenging many long-held assumptions about what strategy is and what it is not. In this conversation with the incredibly talented Jamie Mason Cohen on the TEC Canada podcast, ‘The Leadership Standard’, Godin offers a sparkling treasure chest of glittering insights that may align with what you have been reflecting on.

Taking my own advice from a Leaders & Legends post written more than 5 years ago, I can see the headlong rush towards more hustle culture; the blind worship at a church called the Sacred Heart of Execution & Implementation is often coming at the expense of long-term vision and common sense. Firmly locked in the vice grip of obsessive metric fixation, far too many CEO’s and business leaders are replacing sound professional judgment in favor of following the lemmings of the activation/measurement crowd armed with analytics, empirical data and key performance indicators primarily focused on short-term R.O.I. Originally posted in August of 2019, this short video essay distills what is even more disturbingly true today.

Leaders who sacrifice much-needed quiet time for deeper thought and reflection, often travel a rocky road towards irrelevance and obsolescence.

What if slowing down and coming to a complete mental stop is more crucial than ever if we want to create legacy? Apply the finishing touches to those metaphorical castles we envision? When it comes to castle building, does it really matter how fast we’re going if we’re headed in the wrong direction?

You already know the results you're getting, your outer world, is simply a reflection of your inner world.

When the racket dies down, we get a chance once again to acknowledge the stillness of our mind is still the most valuable asset in our possession. The size, shape and beauty of our castle is always a direct reflection of how we invest the necessary time to nurture this most exquisite of nature’s gifts.

Enter the profoundly spiritual realm of silence.

Experience the mystery.

“Habit rules the unreflecting herd”

- WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

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