“Y’know, Mrs. Smith thinks you’re full of it.”
My friend Lou has just come crashing through my door with this announcement. I look up from my keyboard and raise my eyebrows at him in what I hope is a questioning expression… he flops down across from me.
“Well, she didn’t put it exactly that way.”
“I hope not.”
“She just said that reading your blog made her realize ‘that there were still optimists with rose-colored glasses out there in the world today. ‘ You know that tone she can use sometimes? Then she went on to say something about most people being asleep. I dunno; I didn’t understand that part.”
I am juggling annoyance, amusement, and then slight amazement that Mrs. Smith would choose to share her insights with Lou. Well, with Lou only, I love a spirited discussion. So it occurs to me to ask, “Lou, do you think most people are walking around sort of asleep to life & livingness, or awake and aware to it and its potential?”
Lou rolls his eyes at me. “Jeesh! What did I walk in on? A pop quiz? What do you mean, asleep? awake?”
“Well, they are terms that have come to indicate consciousness. Someone who might be referred to as “asleep” is not questioning the meaning of life or of their life anyway. They are content with how things are, or if not content, don’t see that they can be changed or that they themselves can change. That’s pretty much how I understand it anyway. To be “awake” means to be aware that there is a field of infinite possibilities out there/in here… and exploring all that means — responsibilities and dogma. To me, someone that is awake is a seeker.
“Oh yeah!” Lou exclaims, “I’ve heard this riff from you before! It’s how you justify your — whaddaya call it?– your ‘commitment to dissatisfaction?’ Always looking, looking, questioning, and questioning!” We both laugh, me a bit self-consciously. “But, okay, I get what you are trying to say: zombies vs. guru-wanna-bes.”
Now I laugh in earnest. Lou has such an insouciant and often on-point way of putting things. Sometimes it can be painful. “Yes, Lou, I guess you might say that — though it’s a bit unflattering to both parties. Don’t you think “asleep” and “awake” is a bit better? They are states that aren’t static but can change from one to another and back again. But the nomenclature isn’t the point. I want to know what you think: are most people asleep or awake/awakening? What do you think?”
“Well, the people I hang out with? Mostly awake. Definitely. Guru wanna-bes. Or really, in our age group, looking for a guru if they haven’t found theirs already. Pretty insufferable, really.”
I purse my lips at him and make a face. I’m trying not to laugh yet again. I do love Lou. I have lots of hope for the younger generations. But then, I may wear rose-colored glasses.
What do you think? These days are most people asleep or awakening?
