Some believe that we are born spiritually awake and aware, and that the experience of being human lulls us asleep.
Some believe that we have come here with an understanding and agreement beforehand with certain other souls, but that we wouldn’t remember it with any degree of clarity, merely have a strong sense of it whenever we met those other people.
Some believe that by taking on a corporal self (a body) we automatically lapse into a spiritual amnesia of sorts, completely forgetting where we were before we were here, in order for the human experience to feel utterly real…and that our challenge as spiritual entities is to break through that illusion of separateness from one another and to awaken ourselves to what is true, the One of it all.
Whether any or all of these are true is not for me to say, what is clear to me, however, is that the vast majority of people are still living with their eyes squeezed shut, wandering through life, bumping into and breaking things.
And, yes, there are skillions of other people who are believing in a myriad of other things besides the three I started with, but none of them seem the happier. They may feel superior because of their particular beliefs but not the happier for them. Living in the constant judgment of others is terribly tedious and exhausting. It’s a heavy burden that no one has asked them to carry, but carry it they will, complaining all the while.
And for the record, zealots are a glum lot. Few in number and perpetually misunderstood and unappreciated, it’s a thankless job. If they do not die young for the cause that they’re too young to possibly understand, then they die old, bitter and disillusioned by their misplaced fervor. A lose-lose situation if ever there was one.
For myself, when I sensed how much of my life was spent sleep walking, I ached for something more and couldn’t even tell you what that was. But when I did catch a glimpse it, when something in a situation struck a deeper chord, it always felt strange and familiar, both and at the same time. Like I was remembering…
And as I continued to practice noticing myself, to awakening and becoming more aware, it became easier to recognize and appreciate those people who were aware and awake in their lives as well. Most often, with a simple nod and quiet smile, people who are awake in their present moment are saying hello to one another, acknowledging and appreciating the joy of being here.
Nothing fancy required. Yet the heart warms.
I’m so grateful people loved me enough to show me how to open my eyes.
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