Be Aware and Awake!

August 23, 2006
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

Aristotle said: "The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival."

I looked up the word awareness and found that one of its meanings is the word awake. This is what the dictionary says about the word: AWAKE…implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert. It gives the following statement as an example: A country always awake to the threat of invasion.

It looks the two words having the same meaning. I think that awareness is one of the most important things you can use to direct your life. It means that you need to be attentive to everything in and around you. It often happens that when you are not conscious of things, you will experience problems that you may have been able to avoid if you were more aware.

I think awareness is the ability to focus on what is happening within and around you. The more aware you are of yourself and your surroundings, the better off you are and the safer you will be. I received information about a course that was given to police and military personnel. It was about how to avoid being the victim of violent crimes. One of the first lessons was that a lack of awareness was the number one reason people were attacked. It indicated that you MUST know where you are and what's going on around you. As the dictionary suggests being aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences.

People are attacked because they send out a signal to others that they are not in control of themselves or their surroundings. I am not going to go into all the things you can do to protect yourself in this article. The important thing for you to know is that when you act like you are aware of what is going on around you, then you will be a lot safer. You're also better off regarding the fact that you will enjoy your life that much more.

Awareness gives you an appreciation for what is going on in your life. You are more in touch with what is happening and your relationship to it. Awareness is a form of being more perceptive to the things in your life. If your not aware of something you will have trouble noticing it. You will also have a greatly limited capacity to appreciate things. It is appreciation that gives special meaning and beauty in our lives.

At times, I may drop something out of my hand. When I am aware, I find myself catching it before it hits the floor. Sometimes I knock something over on my desk and catch it as it rolls off the desk. I have found that I do it without thinking about doing it. If I have to think about it, the object is already on the floor. I have analyzed this and found that thinking I can catch it interferes with just catching it without thinking. It is using awareness instead of thought.

Oh, no! I don't want that to fall and break! Thinking about what you don't want will never get you what you do want; it just gets in your way! A good lesson to learn is that you don't get what you want, by not wanting it. Most people go through life expressing what they don't want in their life. You need to express what you do want. In this way you develop and awareness of yourself and your wants and needs.

When you stop blaming others for things, you become responsible for your life and everything in it. It may not always be your fault that things are happening, but it is your responsibility. When you become accountable for yourself, a wonderful thing happens - less bad stuff happens to you.

When you are focussed on the moment, without distraction, you will find that your cognizance of things is greatly improved. By being aware, your perception of things is enhanced. Awareness is your ability to focus in the moment. It is your ability to concentrate. Awareness is like using a magnifying glass to focus your attention. When you are unaware you are compelled to be unconscious. In that state of mind it is not wonder why people can be insensitive and unfeeling.

Mindfulness is another form of awareness. People meditate for the very purpose of sharpening their awareness. When you concentrate and focus on the moment you are taking charge of yourself and your life. Wake up and see the roses, smell the coffee, hear the birds singing. Be aware, awake, alert and alive. If you're not aware in this present moment than you're "out of it!" You're not present; you're not here, right now! You're missing out on the greatest gift of all: Your present!

Rev. Dr. David Harper will present a talk called: "Finding Happiness!" Dr. Harper will use some contributions of modern cartoonists like Charles Schulz. Ample time for discussions will follow. The meeting held Thursday, August 31, 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Westport Senior Center, 21 Imperial Ave., Westport CT 06880. Admission is free and you can meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Stay happy and healthy - get well connected.