Reflecting on life

Lakes, like other bodies of water, offer a wonderful opportunity for (self)reflection. Sitting on its banks it feels almost natural to ask yourself questions.

Life questions

How happy am I with the way I’ve been living my life?

How does what I do every day make me happy?

How have I focused on my values and have I used them to align my actions with my thoughts and emotions?

What — if anything — do I want to change about the way I live my life?

Of course, you don’t have to ask (or answer) questions like these while looking at a mountain lake.

But being away far away and disconnected from all that causes you stress, immersed in a landscape very different from your normal surroundings might just give you that different perspective necessary to find the answers.

Near is the new far

I realise you may not have a lake almost at your front doorstep or anywhere else close by. But as the headline of a 2008 article in Outside magazine prophetically announced: “Near is the new far”.

You may have more bodies of water close by than you’re aware of. Ponds, canals, brooks, etc., with more natural life in them than you ever noticed before. Water that offers you an opportunity to disconnect from the stress of everyday life and simply BE.

Go for a walk around your neighbourhood, your village or town. Grab your bike and cycle around just a bit further afield. Keep your eyes peeled for bodies of water you never noticed before.

Find a bench close by or simply sit on its banks. Give yourself time to reflect. Ask yourself life questions. Your answers may surprise you.

As always …

Go dare greatly!

— Gerdi