The Importance of Looking Inside

A little poem  by Krishnamurti that caught my eye:

In oneself lies the whole world

If you know how to look and learn,

The door is there and the key is in your hand. 

In many instances, we can lose the ability to self-reflect. Sometimes it is our emotions that get in the way; we get caught up in feeling sad or angry or guilty, and we lose the ability to access our rational brain. Other times it is our core beliefs that put up road blocks; if we land in an automatic thought about ourselves it can often override our courage. And sometimes the messages that we have internalized from others can lead us away from who we truly are. Perhaps the first step in moving towards greater self-reflection is to simply

be curious

. To give ourselves pause and ask the question "Wait, does it have to be this way?" The act of being inquisitive, of giving ourselves permission

to look inside

for the answer, has the potential to bring us towards a new door, one in which we now hold the key. Photo credit: http://Photo by CMDR Shane on Unsplash