Life is desperately trying to wake you up, please listen!

Over the last few days, I have been inspired to acknowledge a series of events that lead me to a fully awaken consciousness. Today I got inspired to share these seemingly unrelated events in the hope that it might help readers achieve a more peaceful state of mind.
The Unconscious Life
Our life is in constant change, your nails, for example, are not the same nails you had two years ago. You are not the same person you were ten years ago. Life happened to you and in some instances, the results were not desirable. Perhaps you have had the same feelings of discontent I have had. Perhaps you are not even aware you have these feelings — that is living in an unconscious state.
I find most of us have been trained (conditioned or programmed) to walk through life in a systematic way designed to seek a better future. We are almost always doing the things that are expected in an automated mode. Acquisition of things, statuses, power is what is expected. The path has been paved and we should just follow it.
So every morning (if you work regular shifts), we wake up to our daily grind and every night we go bed tired and resentful. Our lives are automated, our reactions are automated. That better future we seek is always within reach, yet we never get there. This cycle leads us to discontent, yet we blame other people — as if our happiness depended on them.
We spend too many hours debating our worries in our heads, repeating the same argument over and over until it drives us mad. Anxiety, anger, resentment, despair, and intolerance take over our energy fields and soon we can not live with ourselves. Our automated live with so much promise for a brighter future is unbearable in the present moment.
That is unconscious living and we are all doing it — unconsciously.
The Push of Hope
It was the hope of finding a better way for the next generation that pushed closer to conscious life. We put up with so much. Toughness and braveness are desirable qualities, so we like to endure difficulty and pain. I think it is a universal truth that we do not like to see our loved ones suffer. When it comes to our kids that is exponentially magnified.
When I had my first daughter, I decided that the old way of conditioning kids to seek financial success and accolades was faulty. After some thought, I decided that true happiness was the real goal. I wanted to raise my kids to be adults who did not seek their happiness in other people or things. Adults who were happy from within.
How can you teach something you do not fully understand? You can not. So I tried to understand what makes us happy from within and landed on gratitude.
Gratitude was the beginning of the path. Gratitude was the end of unconscious living.
The Inner Critic
Now if it was that simple there would be no need to write about it. I was unconsciously on the path. If you are on the right road but your eyes are closed you will still experience a few bumps on the way.
Gratitude brought abundance into my life. I was able to see blessings easier and that brought a sense of joy for life. Now that life was more enjoyable, I noticed loudly the critic that lived in my head.
The critic would sometimes whisper and sometimes yelled about all the personal behaviour she disapproved of. At first, I thought it good. I am becoming a better version of myself. However, the critic never shut up. I would have a drink, or two or three, to try to quiet her. I would immerse myself in whatever tv series I could, to quiet her. I would pretend to be Claire Fraser in the arms of Jamie, to quiet her. Some of this worked, some backfired. The critic would be quiet for a week or two and then would come back with a vengeance — that is when I decided that inner peace was important.
The Ongoing Journey
I became a seeker. A seeker of joy, inner peace and compassion. I still have the same life and the same responsibilities. However, I am aware of my actions and my thoughts. I make decisions consciously even the small ones. I enjoy this moment and no longer look at the future as the place to be.
I am far from perfect and eternally a work in progress, but that is exactly how it is meant to be.
Would you like to know where to seek? There is a wealth of information out there. I have been exploring books, podcast and videos. I use Instagram to reflect and share my insights. I’ll see you there!
