I Am Awake

... mostly?

I imagine most people like to view themselves as awake. But what does it mean to be "awake" or "awakened"?

If it means to feel connected to this world, then yes. I feel especially so when out in nature or eating food we grew and prepared ourselves.

If it means to be detached, instead of getting caught up and carried away by the current of things, society, etc. then I'm not as good at that. Though I'm at least aware of the problem and continue to work on it. Using one's critical thinking skills seems useful here and I always attempt to do that. Never been one to follow the crowd, that's for sure!

Is it inner peace? If so, then some days, yes and others, no. I've definitely felt more at peace since I started drawing again.

Maybe it involves being aware of events happening in the world, but to be honest that also feels like it could be a good way to get depressed. I had to significantly reduce my connection with the news of the world during much of COVID because I didn't like how polarizing and divisive it all was. It really started to affect my mental well being! At least I was "awake" enough to recognize this.

Sure there is probably more to being "awake" but it seems that it requires other skills to achieve it. Skills like self-awareness, balance, critical thinking, compassion, empathy, strength, fortitude, and many others.

Like most (all?) of the terms in, this I Am project, list of words, for me, it's a work in progress and probably always will be.

Or maybe we are all just stuck in the Matrix