Afterthoughts

        "Planning for any event can be a long process. Just waking up and starting a day is hard for the non morning people. Some plan each day, some flow with the events of the day with little planning and some have it 'all laid out'. No matter how thorough one is in organizing for life's requirements, there are always gaps in the plan. Perhaps it is not evident for those who are the daily planners, but it depends on the depth of the planning. Then it is either done and over with and there is little review or there is a step by step process of review and all levels of interest inbetween.

        After the action of the day or night, and after the relationship interaction, for the more contemplative persons, there are the afterthoughts. What if I had done this? Should I have said this? And, if mistakes have been made, there is often the guilt that stays and will not go away. Then the scene is played over and over and regret and remorse enters in. It is important to look at one's plan, one's daily life, and observe it with some bit of detachment. It is not always going to be a progressive, successful picture that you see. We are all learning lessons each day or teaching them to others. As we learn, we make mistakes and in the process of the afterthoughts, we need to be thorough but forgiving of self, if mistakes have been made. The next day presents an opportunity to mend or amend actions of the day before, but if that is not possible, then one should learn to take the good with the bad. Some of the lessons will undoubtedly be painful ones and emotionally, one does not have to look at them right away. Afterthoughts can come at a time when an individual is stronger and more willing to review the lesson that life is giving. There will always be mistakes, but we can learn from them and grow with them and hopefully, not continue to make the same ones.

        Afterthoughts can also be used in a visionary way. For example, let us say that you are on a trip, that you are experiencing new things and new people. It is in the review, the afterthoughts, that one sometimes receives insight. It may be a passing remark, an expression, a reaction, or an awareness of the feeling within. Looking back at these scenes can bring forth knowledge and understanding that isn't there when the actual events are happening. Looking at a dream and upon waking, remembering, can lead to confusion at times, but with practice it can lead to understanding. Bringing the night time thoughts into the present in written form can be an eye opening experience over time.

        Afterthoughts should not always be a lesson to be done. It can be a pleasant review, a video rewind so to speak, that brings pleasure. Stored up memories can be looked at over and over and sometimes, years later, an afterthought regarding a moment in time can be illuminating."