The cost of awareness

Awareness is rare. Most people live shallow, apathetic lives. They see the world, find their way and somehow scrape through it. Day in and day out. For them, ignorance is really bliss. Their view is limited. And then there is another set of people who know what’s what, who know the trick of life, who know that it is true that ‘you only live once.’ These people have mastered the art of living in the present. They know what life has to offer and they take it. Both these type of people are more or less on similar line, both are happy with what they’re doing. The former because of ignorance, and the latter because of awareness. There is a third kind who are somewhere in between these two. They are aware but somehow their awareness has not overtaken them enough to live their lives to the very fullest. They know that something’s brewing in the corners of their minds, that there is more to existence than what is visible on the surface and yet aren’t able to manifest that awareness into action and concurrent results. In other words, they are stuck in between.

There are probably more people in the third category than in the first two. Society does an amazing job when it comes to making people think they have to act a certain way, live a certain way and do everything on the lines of its much appreciated decorum. We are very good at telling people how to live their lives. What they are supposed to do, feel, have, see, accept, enjoy, appreciate, dislike…everything. And if they don’t listen, we force them. Call it conditioning or influence, we have all been there. We have all experienced that urge of wanting to be accepted by others, that tingling feeling of hesitation in doing something because it isn’t the “right” thing to do and having that unwanted authority that binds you in everything you do.

At some point you have to fight these forces. At some point you have to stand up for yourself. Because realization is as precious as life itself. You can spend an entire lifetime doing what you think you should be doing and never realize the true potential of your existence. Many, many people have lived like that in the past and are continuing to do so today. But if by some crazy chance you realize, you become aware, you understand the true nature of things around you, do not let it go. Do not let that feeling fly by, do not let it fade. Do not let it be supressed in the name of society and civilization. Do not make it carry the burden of your fears and insecurities. Do not let yourself forget it. Its just not worth the time. Regret is just not worth the time.