A renowned Christian theologian, Ignatius of Loyola, developed a discipline of prayer for the religious community he founded — the Jesuits — called “The Spiritual Exercises.”  There is a nearly perceptible magnetic pull, for some of us anyway, toward a system, a framework, a set of useful exercises.

As the end of the year draws near, one exercise I would recommend is pondering two directions — backward and forward. And what a wonderful exercise it is to look back on the recent past, and to look forward to the immediate future. This exercise, in many ways a spiritual one, bestows a great gift to us… the gift of perspective.

There are some who would contend that nearly every significant decision error humans can make is really an error of perspective.

‘Tis the season to look back, and look ahead… to enrich our perspective.