Woke. It seems like a simple concept. Be conscious of your life. Be alive and alert to the miracle that is you.
But sometimes, I guess my mind goes to sleep on me. I do not do too many different things one day after another. I have my ROUTINES. Coffee in the morning, exercise, a little bite to eat and drive off to Mom’s. Mom stuff. Drive home. Eat dinner. Veg in front of TV. Even my dog knows my routines, because as soon as I turn off TV and say “Ok,” he runs upstairs and sits in front of our bedroom door. Then I read until I fall asleep, wake up and repeat.
Here is the question I have for myself: Can I stay in my comfortable routine and still remain awake? I like my routines and I kind of get discombobulated if something suddenly changes.
I guess it’s more comfortable to stay asleep. This is my mind getting in my way.
How will I continue to grow if I do not splatter some NEWNESS into my life, here and there? It can be little stuff, like driving different routes to and from Mom’s, keeping the TV off in the evening and working on a home project, going to an outside location to read, etc. I feel I need to shake things up a bit more, though.
That’s why I enjoyed Kitty’s message this week. I need to get out of my own way and be conscious of the Life Force within me. She said, “Thou shalt not kill your life.” One of the reasons it’s easier to stay in my routines is that getting out of my way is a work-out. Unity in Naperville is a great, safe place to try something new and practice being conscious while doing it, and I am grateful. There are ample opportunities to stretch myself and I may even start to create those opportunities for others, too!
For Sunday’s service, we all picked a random little yellow slip of paper from a basket that had a Life-affirming word on it, and mine was enterprise. All I could think of was the Starship Enterprise; and to paraphrase Star Trek, I thought of taking the Enterprise to “to explore strange new worlds…to seek out new life…to boldly go where no woman has gone before!”
Cindy Blank, Board Member
P.S. I will always say, “Ok” when it’s time to go to bed, for Gucci’s sake!
P.S.S. This reminds me of my recent experience at physical therapy. My therapist is training me to walk differently than I have walked my entire life. It is both a mental and physical act. I first have to have the thought, “Cindy, walk with your knees pointed forward and your weight on your big toe,” before I can actually do that. (I have always walked like a duck, with the weight on the outside of my feet). This conscious way of walking is challenging me to create new, healthier habits. Who knew physical therapy could be so Unity?
