Have you ever had the experience of coming awake while in the midst of doing something? For instance, say you are out walking or on your way to work and suddenly the world around you comes to life? You start to actually see the trees and appreciate how green their leaves are against the blue sky. Then you notice the happy smile on a child’s face as you pass by her while walking. It is all so wondrous.
I recently had this experience and realized how much we live inside our minds. We are constantly thinking, planning, remembering, daydreaming or otherwise engaged inside our heads. If not, we are immersed in television, our phones or our computers and we rarely take the time to “smell the roses”. I realized how little we are often present in our own lives.
We are constantly sleepwalking as life passes us by.
Has this ever happened to you too? Do you ever feel like you are sleepwalking through your life?
As I pondered my realization, I began to wonder, if we are asleep through our waking life, are we able to experience true Joy?
NO! Joy cannot be experienced unless we are present to appreciate it.
We cannot truly appreciate Joy if distracted, nor any other emotion for that matter. Perhaps that is why we sleepwalk through life, to avoid our feelings? And, if we cannot truly appreciate Joy in the moment, what else might we be missing?
When we come awake and truly experience the emotions in our lives, we begin to appreciate the richness they offer. Yes, being fully awake and immersed in life can be uncomfortable at first, but is the alternative of sleepwalking your life away really how you want to live? So, from hereon, make an effort to stay awake. I know I will, can you?
Tell us your thoughts on this.