“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates
In the past several weeks, I have met an inordinate number of individuals who bemoan the relentless activity in their lives. This incorporates the professional schedules of parents, children and extended families only widening a greater swath of increasing dysfunction in our personal lives. Of course, we must first recognize the circumstance, and desire to make the changes necessary in order to effect a new direction for our families, our friends, our loved ones and ourselves. To be aware of your actions and how this causes a “ripple effect” to everyone in your circle . . . takes a leap of conscious awareness. Personal responsibility takes courage, and Heraclitus phrases it this way . . . “Man’s character is his fate.”
In the opening quote by Socrates, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life,” hits each of us differently. Our days are filled with appointments, projects, meetings, seminars, classes, deadlines, flight schedules . . . the list is endless. Unfortunately, by the time we fit everything in . . . we’ve run out of time . . . literally. As children, the end of life never crossed our minds. Why should it? The ego refines our conscious sensitivities with overlays of education, domestication and suffocation . . . thereby veiling our awareness with the blunt instrument of indoctrination. Neville Goddard expressed this quite succinctly in another way, “Most of us are reflecting life and not affecting it.”
Sometimes it takes a drastic interruption in the perpetual grind, to shock our consciousness into another reality. This may be the loss of a job, a loved one, a personal health issue which may be terminal, catastrophic loss of property due to violent weather patterns or something else which is never expected or planned. How do we prepare consciously for this? For some who have made a conscious decision to stop the dysfunction of endless “busyness,” the shift is challenging but not devastating. For others, the shock is beyond comprehension and insurmountable. In this moment, where would a catastrophic event place you and your conscious awareness? Yes, this is an uncomfortable question . . . however, Gerard Way poses another thought, “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Makes sure it’s worth watching.” JLR