Scott Rosenberg quotes Guy Steele:

Meta means that you step back from your own place. What you used to do is now what you see. What you were is now what you act on.

What a great definition! (I’m glad meta is two syllables.) I couldn’t remember this week which direction is reification and which is reflection. Given that meta means to step back, to reify is to reach for something behind you and put it in front of you, whereas to reflect is to grab something in front of you and leave it behind you. This terminology is confusing because to reflect also means to step back.