The week between Christmas and the New Year often takes on an ‘other-worldly’ quality. Retreat and introspection are bundled soporifically between festive book ends. The world slows down creating space for reflection.
This kind of benign introspection doesn't take much effort. It would be easy to discount festive downtime as 'cerebral idling'. But it serves an important role in creating distance and bringing perspective to our otherwise hectic lives.
For those committed to life-long learning, reflection plays an important role. Margaret Wheatley sums it up in her customary no-nonsense manner:
“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful”.