Awakening and awareness

August 31, 2012
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the life wisdom and admirable traits demonstrated by the characters in the novel, "Evansing - Heart of the Irish Kingdom" available at https://www.createspace.com/3935159 and Amazon.com.

In Chapter 1, Edwin the hero, wakes up realizing he needs to do something different. He finds it hard to imagine life could be different, but he has decided to at least try. The concept in life of awakening and becoming aware is a very foundational truth. It is essential to growth. Until a person knows there is a better way of doing life, he or she will have no motivation to change or even a capacity to know change is necessary. As well, a person must have at least some basic belief in their ability to achieve the desired change and a willingness to take the necessary steps.

An essential requirement for becoming awake and aware is teachableness. Whether it's from an external source, such as an expert on some subject or simply an internal stirring, there needs to be a willingness to acknowledge that one's present course or beliefs may be erroneous or at least need an adjustment to ensure a better outcome in some aspect of one's life.

In order for the new awareness to have any effect there must also be a courage to take steps to implement the required change. This can be very difficult, especially if there is a lot of investment tied into the previous belief and behavior. There have been examples of military commanders still going ahead with battle plans even after new intelligence indicated that the plans would not work. Their ego investment would not allow them to change and the results were disastrous with many lives needlessly lost. Of course even everyday opportunities to change can be ignored simply because its uncomfortable. Quite often this is due to some sort of fear of the consequences of the change, even when it is apparent it will lead to better long-term benefits. People can have fear of failure or even fear of success. This will result in a person staying in a dead end job or abusive relationship because its familiar and even in a distorted way, comfortable.

Let us be people who are open to the possibility of being wrong in even some of our most cherished beliefs and actions. Let us be people with the courage to take steps to implement necessary changes.