Reflection Essay, Research Paper

Reflection

Thesis: The act of reflection has the possibility to change the way society functions.

When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty….

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life is a miracle itself, nature is stunning, and the changing seasons are miraculous. Nevertheless, all of these events go by unnoticed day after day. Instead, the world is filled with discontented people, suicides and depression, hate crimes, theft, and murder. Life has become a race to better ourselves, but only in material possessions. Rarely does anyone concentrate on improving relationships between family and friends. Too many people value material possessions over true happiness. If the common person reflected upon their life and the wonders nature has to hold for them, the way society functions can change drastically.

Thinking has become a burden on society. It is apparent why; TV places thoughts into our heads. Lets see what car should I buy. I can see the USA in a Chevrolet. Its our anniversary diamonds are forever. Well, how about dessert, nobody doesn’t like …Sara Lee. With all of these media influenced thoughts, it is easy to focus on the true necessities. The average family is forced to think that if they want to be happy, they need wealth, beauty, and the best of all material possessions. If families were to place all of these cluttering slogans behind, reflecting and seeing how much beauty and wonder life holds would become easier. Magazines portray the minority as the majority. Very few women have the body that is considered perfect by today s modeling standards. Models have above average heights and below average weights, but plaster every page in the magazine. Because of the media, the typical woman is forced to think that she is abnormal and unattractive because of her weight and height. Media influences women s self-concepts and self esteem. Throw away beauty magazines! If women were to look at their bodies and think about how much they do for them, they would realize that they are beautiful, no matter what size or shape they are.

One of the greatest beauties life holds is the family, however, considering today s families, family relationships are not place in high regard. The family is taken for granted. The relationship between parents and children grows thinner everyday. Children come home from school, and automatically turn on the TV; parents get off work and complete the day in a daze. Somebody mutters a yes or a no, but that s where conversation begins and ends. Parents and children live in parallel universes. An answer is not easy to find, nor explain, but possibilities exist. One is that families are frequently taken for granted. Teenagers need to stop and realize how much their parents give up for them and support them; conversely, parents need to realize that it is hard being a teenager and take time out of their day to discuss what is going on in the teenage world. The power of conversation is profound. Conversation is beautiful, and holds many possibilities, yet it is so often overlooked.

The connection between conversation and reflection is often overlooked, and the connection is simple. People are willing to pay hundred of dollars for psychiatrists and psychologists to analyze the depressed, but they do nothing out of the ordinary with the patients. They TALK. Although it is understood that depression is sometimes caused by chemical imbalances, sometimes depressing is caused from thinking that life has nothing better to offer. Everything has the possibility to change if individuals were to take five minutes from their day to count everything beautiful that existed around them, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem. Depression could be alleviated, suicides could be prevented. Lives could be saved if families talked to each other, if people would consider the endless opportunities life has to offer them. It is certainly possible that a person s whole way of living could change. People would suddenly realize that the beautiful parts of life out number the ugly.

Murders and thefts take place everyday, but none of the criminals can truthfully justify their motives. No reason behind theft and murder is reason enough, although it could be because of despondency. Consider this scenario, a man constantly is reminded of the fact that in order to give his children the best childhood possible he MUST have a surplus of money and the most expensive of everything. The next day, that same man sees a wealthy man walking down the street in an expensive suite with a cheerful family. The wealthy man appears to be content. The poorer man only sees what he wants, that money is everything. Therefore, the poorer man goes out and robs a bank. He feels that the money will induce happiness in his life; however, it does just the opposite. The same logic is applicable to several murders. If less stress were placed on material possessions, envy and hate would not be as widespread. The motives to commit a crime would drop by one, and drop the actual number of crimes by a large number. The condition of our country would improve; it would more or less become a utopia.

The act of reflecting upon our lives does not take much time; then again, it is commonly overlooked. Media places the thoughts into our heads telling society not to be satisfied with what they have. To always strive higher, and while this is a good creed to live by, it is not when it comes to material possessions. Men and women were created and had no modern technology to ease the pains of their lives, and were happy. Without the distractions of technology, nature, family and friends were valued. People had time to think about life and nature. The smallest things were considered beautiful. This is still true, all things are beautiful once people take time to reflect on them and think about it. It isn t hard to find magnificence in everything; the most difficult part is finding the time or putting the effort into thinking.