On Being Contrite

Contrition seems to be an important theme in Buddhist philosophy. I define "contrition" as the ability to look upon one's path as still lacking and incomplete, rather than believing that it has somehow already completed itself. In a way, it's a good thing that one's acts are incomplete, because without that sense of incompleteness or "failure", one might think they have attained something that they truly haven't. Contrition aids in thus allowing a person to practice humility, which opens doors to a bigger world.
  It's interesting how sometimes cynicism can lead to contrition through a process of exhaustion. If a person knows everything and has "been there before" or "done that" then there is simply nothing new, and that road will lead to stagnation. However, being with that stagnation for a while, one can see the natural sense of contrition or opening up to the wound that is embedded in cynicism. With cynicism, a person clings to the past sense of disappointment or unmet expectations. But with contrition there is some realization that one's mind is spacious enough to contain that disappointment. It is so much more than the disappointed ego or the frustrated wishes a person experiences. In being with the pain of disappointment or failure, one can sense a spacious mind that is always more than these things. The attitude of contrition might be to recognize that bumps in life come from previous karmic roots, and that these bumps are inevitable. In suffering the disappointment and relaxing with it, a person might begin to see themselves as not truly bound by it.
  Writing itself can be an act of contrition. How so, you might ask? Writing opens up pathways in the mind that pure repetitive thinking sometimes cannot do. If I am stewing on something, it's better that I take the thought to the page (or the screen, in this case) to explore the hidden dimensions or possibilities that are peripheral to the stuck feelings. Writing often connects things in ways that just cogitating or stewing about something won't necessarily do. One can even surprise oneself to know that one is capable of insights in paper that they might not normally have just through pure thinking. I believe that narration itself is a kind of search for meaning, albeit an impermanent one.
   Writing in a sense can redirect the mind toward something that is more hopeful and worth working toward. It clarifies a lot of one's values and beliefs, and can allow the person to go through a process of resetting their ideas when the ideas are stuck in terrible emotions. Of course this act of writing is not the only way to extend one's experience, but it is an accessible way to explore new possibilities.