On being aware.

 Here’s a little something to think about. Did you know that we are floating through life, without being aware? Sure, we are aware of where we are and what we are doing, but we aren’t really acutely aware of ourselves. And who we really are. Sure, you are aware that you are reading this. But are you aware of how your mind flutters as these words fly from your eyes to your brain, sending waves of understanding through you? Once you do, you’ll truly start being aware.

Interested? Read on to know more. 

Naturally, we all have some degree of body awareness, but very few of us make use of the full capacity of feeling. This happens due to most of us having an incomplete sense of our bodies. Some may be strongly aware of their upper bodies, and some lower. Some may feel more of their right side than their left side. In fact, this may shift from moment to moment too. This happens because of hurdles like not understanding how ‘dead’ parts of our bodies are. Now that means that these parts of our bodies are without feeling. Sure, it is our body, but we carry so much stiffness and tension around, these parts become dead to perception. It all happens because we relate to ourselves from the perspective of how we look in the mirror, or in our selfies, rather than how we are feeling. Once we start hearing our bodies, feeling each and every part, looking at our body from the eye of our mind, a new world opens up.

Imagine this new world. As you become aware of your body, the constant traffic in your mind quietens. There’s a serene silence that fills you. And your senses wake up from their deep slumber. You start feeling things you never did before. You stand and move in a more grounded way, with a strong sense of centre. You become confident in yourself. You start radiating that confidence as well.

Now that your mind and body are one, you feel whole as well. Something we rarely get the chance to feel. And once we are whole, positive energy fills our body, making us more alive than we have ever been. That’s when we start living, instead of just being alive. You get a whole sense of self. By standing on a firm grounding of being self-aware, you will be more in touch with your feelings. That means, better relationships because you’ll be communicating more articulately. It means better friendships, because you’ll be more expressive. It means loving the world, and letting it love you back. Because you will be honest, and sincere about yourself.

But it’s not just the mind. It’s also physical health. Because, here’s something most of us don’t know, our bodies are smart machines. They understand how we treat it, and work accordingly. So once we start communicating with it, we can hear what it has to tell us. Sometimes, it will point at its grievances, like an illness or pain. Sometimes it will lead us to what makes it feel good. Maybe for you that’s a long morning walk. When we are in tune with ourselves, our bodies become healthier as well. It heals us. It heals our injuries, and soothes our wounds. But as we live right now, with a lack of contact with our very own body, it hides a tsunami of stressors and tensions. When we can’t speak with our body, we will not get its warning signals and risk injuring ourselves and not even knowing what caused it. We’ll end up suppressing anger or grief, leading to the bubble bursting and lashing out at a loved one.  It’ll affect us physically and mentally, turning into an illness hidden in the corners of our bodies.

So today, promise to have greater awareness of your body. Because with great awareness, comes great responsibility. And with this greater responsibility, you can take care of yourself. In turn, allowing yourself to show your love for the ones you care for. In turn, making the world kinder. The moral being, a better world begins with you. Take care!