Have you ever opened your eyes from a deep sleep and into a pitch-black room, and realized with a start that you don’t know where you are?
You scan the room for clues.
Your mind races to make a familiar sensory connection – some touch, some sight, some smell, some sound that will ground you. You feel a bit panicked. And then it passes. You become aware that you are home, of course, in your own bed, your place, safe, secure.
What just happened?
It can be frightening to lose your sense of where you are, what you are doing, or why you are doing it. And yet many of us go through our lives just like this, on automatic pilot, passing our time in familiar routines which add up to the sum of our days. Then we wake with a start to some new reality…but we let it pass
Think about this.
- What are you doing in your life, right now?
- What are you aware of?
- Is this what you want to be doing?
- Is this really you?
Awareness is that presence of mind which informs us or what we are doing and what is happening around us. We are sensory beings and so a good deal of our awareness is the response to sensations – sight, sounds, touch, tastes, smells. To be aware on a sensory level can be a pleasure. To be aware of the physical world makes us feel alive, energized, connects us to something big and wonderful. Conversely it can really scare us.
Awareness also has an inner and cognitive dimension as well as a spiritual dimension.
- What do we really know about our inner lives?
- Are we aware of who we are?
- What drives us, what do we care most about?
- Do we really understand why we do what we do, and what the impact of our actions is, on our lives?
- Are we happy? Grateful? Discontent? Stuck?
- Is this what we want for this one life we are given?
These are deep questions, which require reflection, and consideration. To do so creates a greater awareness our being.
Each of us has a choice to become the person of our choosing, to get centered on our true purpose, to act from the values we hold most important. This is a challenging and worthy journey.
When we lack clarity and are stuck in our old ways, the way to a new more vibrant and genuine life is elusive.
This is where coaching can help.
Working with a coach creates an engaging partnership focused on who you are, what you care most about, what you want to accomplish. By choice and intention, the old gets moved away and the new, genuine true self emerges.
Each journey starts with awareness. Today is a good day to begin. Let me know how I can help.
Bradshaw@watersoverstone.com
