Wake up.
These are two very powerful words one of my mentors would say at the beginning of each of his talks.
What does “wake up” mean to you?
There’s a big movement around mindfulness right now, but many people may not understand what it’s truly about. Most people are so busy in their lives, over-scheduled, over-loaded, over-stimulated, that they are not truly connected to reality. There so wrapped in an illusion about what is going on around them, that they can’t make truly grounded decisions. They’re constantly reacting instead of acting.
From my perspective, waking up is a process of truly being conscious and in the moment as often as possible. It’s being truly connected to someone else. Listening to what they have to say. Not thinking about what you’re going to say next. Being in the moment and being here now. That’s the space you want to occupy. If you want to live a life reacting and swept up in our over-hurried world, then that is a choice you make.
You could drink yourself to sleep at night, over-caffeinate in the morning, grind through the days one by one, year after year, until you get to the end and look back and say, “What the hell just happened?”
OR you can create space in your world. Create time for nothing so that you can actually think about what you’re doing, where you are, and where you’re going. Surround yourself with people who are conscious. Find a method of yoga or meditation that you can practice daily. Read. Spend time in nature.
UNPLUG in 2018.
Pay attention to what’s real.