Giving Thanks to AWARENESS

I was listening to James and Lionel talking.

“I don’t understand,” James complained. “How did you get here? Twenty years ago, you were the wealthiest man in our hometown. You valued millions. Now you are the poorest. What happened?

Knowing many people who had it all, then lost it all, I too wondered about this. How could they not see or feel themselves descending? The landing of an airplane triggers our impulses. Going down a flight of stairs is sensed. For many of us, our senses are alerted when we must descend.

Success or failure, pain follow both of them. Yet, many feel the pain of ascending, but not the agony of their fall from grace until they landed on the tarmac.

I examined their lives and went back in with the newest and best technology I could find. I found one thing each of them lacked.

AWARENESS

Cambridge says: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/awareness

the knowledge that something exists or understanding of a situation or subject at the present time based on information or experience:

https://www.definitions.net/definition/awareness

Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, feel, or be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sensory data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of something. In biological psychology, awareness is defined as a human’s or an animal’s perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event.

They weren’t aware of their actions, choices, and decisions, even with the anguish life adds to their slump. To get a better understanding, I had to break it down simpler for myself.

I was a millionaire in 2006, residing with my wife and three children in a mansion on a hill with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. A chauffeur-driven Bentley escorted me everywhere I want to go. Also, my children to their private schools and anywhere else they felt like going. My wife paraded around in her Silver Benz, driven by another chauffeur. We ate lobster, drank champagne when we wanted to, while my children had their meal of choice. Our wardrobes were purchase in Paris annually before we vacationed in Europe.

In 2010, my wife and I enjoyed steak and red wine. Our children feast on some of what they want. My family’s new wardrobe, we now purchase at Macy’s. We vacationed in the Caribbean. Because of maintenance issues, I sold my mansion and bought a smaller house in a cheaper neighborhood. The gardener, the maid, housekeeper, the French chef that catered our meals, and the chauffeurs, had to seek employment elsewhere.

My Bentley became too expensive to maintain, so I leased a car. My children had to attend public schools as I could no longer afford the school fees.

From 2016–2019 my family ate chicken and drank apple juice. Our wardrobe came off the sale rack at the department store. Mazda repossessed my car, and the bank took our house. The Pandemic came and wiped out what was left. Six months ago, we were homeless, separated, and bouncing around from one friend’s house to the next. Today we are living in a homeless shelter.

During my fall, my assets and lifestyle fell with me. I wasn’t aware that I was sliding until I hit the ground. How? How did I get here? I demanded from Life.

“You weren’t paying attention,” Life scolds.

“But I am not in school,” I defend.

“I meant you weren’t paying attention to the life you were living and the things that were happening to and around you and your family,” Life alerts.

“So what?” I asked, annoyed.

"What, you fell asleep? You had a wife and three children who were relying on you to make the right decisions? You and your family have adapted to the changes but did nothing to try and fix the problems facing you.”

“I wasn’t aware that my life was on a slope,” I said in defiance.

“But you were the one living and enjoying it!" Life cried out in shock.

Nodding, I respond, "You expect me to see myself falling?"

“Being forced to sell your mansion and Bentley? Not to mention the people you made unemployed should be an indicator.”

I stared at Life in frustration, then defends, “I didn’t see myself slipping.”

“Really? You lost your car and home. You humiliated your children when you had to remove them from private schools to public schools. Plus, they had to buy clothes in a department store from the sales rack. Which made your wife angry. No more vacations, brand-name clothes, and fine foods. You still didn’t feel or see anything?” Life questioned in wonder.

“I wasn’t moving. How could I feel anything?” I fought back.

“True,” Life agrees. “But your life was. When you rose from poverty to wealth, your life moved, and you followed it. When you fall back, it’s the same actions.”

Nodding in realization, I confess, “I swear, I felt no movement.”

“Most of us can’t,” Life shares in a softer tone. “But all of us should be able to feel ourselves slumping as our lifestyle changes. Change is the new vessel that takes us to the next level down or up. You should be able to feel that sensation because depending on your direction, it is pain for some of us. But joy for others. For you, it was pain and disappointment.”

“I didn’t feel a thing,” I repeated. “I wasn’t aware of any changes or movement my life was making.”

“The defense rests,” Life said, clapping.

Our life moves, and with awareness, you should be able to see and feel something.

The aware ones are able to feel the slide, the push, the descend whatever direction their life advance towards.

I am still in shock. How could I not see or feel myself going down?

Today I give thanks to AWARENESS. It is a powerful tool that possesses the power to save lives. My creator has been pleasing to me. My awareness is best friends with my instincts. Every direction my life turns, or whatever changes it makes, I can see and feel the pleasure or the pain that lies ahead. That gives me the power to make the right decision.

Thank you, AWARENESS!

How AWARE are you?

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.