How often are we truly "awake" and attentive in the literal present? Our minds drift and linger in moments past and anxiously await and plan our steps forward. Our emotions of past events tug us into reflection, and our vast to-do lists and smart phones catapult us into the future. We are constantly distracted and prevented from from focusing on the physical present. A chapter in a philosophy book once reminded me how appreciative I should be that I actually wake up in the morning. We often take the act of waking up for granted that it doesn't usually cross our minds that there is always a sliver chance that we will NOT wake up in the morning. So what do I do in my "awakeness". When we awake in the morning do we focus on how we are feeling in the present? Am I still tired? Am I content being awake? Within my loft, I lazily come into consciousness every morning and wish I would give myself the chance to reflect if I am enjoying the sun streaming through my window. Am I happy to be simply be alive? How am I awake in the present? With what attitudes do I embrace each day? Or do I choose to ignore it all together. I embraced the second day of spring, perturbed at the snow and sleet, took a shower, wrapped myself in my towel and proceeded to go back to bed for the rest of the day. Apparently, on that day, I chose to not be awake. Can I tap into my current emotions or do I shrug them off and place someone else's emotions above my own? Can I tap into my hunger and health or do I cast them away until my current task is done, just to lift my head up hours later and realized I've missed three consecutive meals? Can I even sit still and allow myself to mentally and physically rest?
Society at-large is way too overstimulated. The mere act requires an individual to have and relinquish control all at the same time. People meet for dinner and the party of four instantly becomes a table of eight -- 4 humans, 4 smart-phones, and numerous anticipated guests and a cyber-delegation of tasks. The invisible noise is obnoxiously deafening. To shed this life of complexity and adopt one of simplicity is my challenge. To simply be. For me. And for no one else.
