An older friend grilled me on putting SEIZE the DAY ahead of AWARENESS. She made some good points, so will give it the #2 slot.
"Awareness" wouldn't never have made my mother's list. I doubt it would make the list of any older friends much over seventy. Unlike my Boomer Generation & the ones that followed us, it just wasn't on their radar.
It can be shocking how unaware friends over 75 are about even things that matter most to them. To have a parent decide at almost 90 that it was time to discover her core self - WOW! Thank goodness Mom had the grit & grace - aka courage - to seek professional help in getting a clue.
Up until then, Mom had been almost aggressively unaware of any internal dialogue messing up her perspective, coloring her opinions, pre-setting her agenda. She had no idea that actions, words & even tone, body language can subliminally push our buttons. Nor, frankly, did she wish to. For her, the advantages of not knowing far outweighed anything awareness might bring her.
It was pretty awesome, experiencing a parent who'd so steadfastly kept her eyes wide shut decide it was time to adjust her vision. It was a joy to see her open up to sensing herself as unique & separate from everyone else, especially from us kids. It was unforgettable, watching her empowered self make changes that built up her strengths, reduced her weaknesses & opened the way to all manner of improvements. I'll always & forever be amazed that Mom took the road (sadly) less traveled, coming to know things she once feared - her own needs & desires, foibles & failings, patterns & peculiarities - weren't foes. They just were.
Awareness is the foundation of knowing what makes us tick. The better we understand the things that keep messing us up, the more we can address & adjust things for the better.
How's this - let's agree that a Seize the Day attitude, actively living in this moment, and Awareness share top courage calisthentics' billing. Afterall, have just one, and we'd actively pursue things out of whack with what we genuinely, deep down care about ~OR~ we'd be aware of what makes us tick, but never get around to doing anything to turn that self-awareness into constructive action.
Hope that satisfies my friend. Guess I'll hear tomorrow!
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