AWAKENING

I like the word “awakening.” It makes me think of new beginnings. Awakening is what we do each morning after a night of sleep. It’s part of the physical experience of every human being. 

And it’s just as important to experience a new beginning, a new awakening...on the inside.

But awakening doesn’t always come so easily. Yes, when that alarm goes off in the morning, it can sometimes be difficult not to hit the snooze and roll over. But, even more importantly, it can be difficult not to stay “asleep” on the inside.

It is so easy to become hypnotized by habit. The little things, day by day, week by week, tend to wear us down, so that one day we realize we have yielded our humanity to the familiar, the comfortable, the convenient, the routine, the secure. 

We have kept our eyes closed and stayed asleep.

Awakening means taking time. It means learning to relax and enjoy the moment. It means remembering again that you are important, and that you are the only you there is. It means discovery is a part of your life. Each day we can awaken to sunlight and stars, to wind and grass, to new conversations, new feelings, new friends.

Awakening is as essential to the quality of our lives as it is to the health of our physical existence. It should be a daily experience.

--Landon Saunders