Hello all.
I sit here in my friend's apartment in Leiden, Netherlands, reflecting on the events of my past few days. I have noticed such a shift in my perspective on life here. I first attributed this to my change of location, but now I realize that the change of location is just a new framework to position myself within.
The world is so vastly immense, in terms of places to discover, connections to forge, and the insignificance of each individual action. But rather than internalize that as something to gripe and groan about, wondering if we have 'purpose' in the grand scheme of things, I propose that we look at it as an ever-evolving chance to forgive ourselves. I find that we are often much more willing to pardon others for their faults in life than it is for us to look back and accept the decisions we have made as lessons, not regrets. When I speak of insignificance, I speak of a deeper awareness of our place in our own lives, and less of a focus on our positions in those of others.
We as individuals are the product of our actions - our motivations for and our reflections on them. We typically only consider the surface-level, blaming ourselves for what we have done without bothering to understand why or making changes to our way of life to avoid repeating processes that do not add to our self-growth. I believe forgiveness of our actions is essential, and indeed the preliminary step, towards becoming comfortable accessing and evaluating the deepest parts of ourselves encouraging us to behave in certain ways.
I have three months left here in Europe, and I plan to focus on my position as an individual within my own life. I believe that doing so will me back to what really matters.
