Wake up!

Have you ever been caught walking in your sleep? When I was young I climbed out of bed and made a b-line for the front door. Luckily the door was locked and my parents were sitting in the living room and able to re-direct me back to bed. Consider the harm that can be done if we walk around sleeping, and yet metaphorically many of us do.

Sometimes I find myself driving completely engrossed in thought. It is as if I am on autopilot. There is no presence of mind, only going through the motions. I do relationships like this sometimes too. If I am not careful, I can catch myself checked out and cut off from Spirit and the sweetness of the moment. This is not the way I want to live, so it is my intention to be awake and integrated as I engage with what is all around me and also with what is within. When I consider the why, I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of awareness and also an effort to self-protect. If I keep my heart guarded and tucked safely away it can’t get harmed. Unfortunately, it can’t experience the fullness of joy that was intended for it either. There are countless ways that we can choose to numb out or keep ourselves from full waking consciousness, and our culture encourages it through the constant connection to technology and insane speed.

We can choose to walk intentionally as children of the light in the little and big choices we make each day. One way I have decided to move toward the light is to wake up earlier, so that the first fruits of my day are given to God. I love to sleep, so when the alarm sounds at 5 a.m. I often hit snooze (repeatedly), sleeping away the most life giving hour of the day. Then I get catapulted into mom mode. On these days I feel robbed and frustrated with myself. One way that I have been trying to encourage myself to wake up is by setting my intention before I go to bed. I read these words by Rumi as a reminder. “The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep.” When the alarm sounds, I stir in wonder and arise to see if I can grab hold of these secrets as I decide what I really want on this new and glorious day.

If we begin and end each day with intentionality and presence of mind, everything in the middle is sure to fall into place. At the end of the day I like to practice daily examen. It is a way of reviewing and “tucking in” the day and laying it down before God. This is an ancient Ignatian practice in which we reflect on the day’s events to look for the fingerprints of God and also to inquire and discern his direction going forward. It is an act of surrender. “Lord, I give you this day and I thank you for the specific ways that I noticed your presence moving in my life.” One invaluable tool I have found is called “Reviewing my Days Map” from the Listen to my Life curriculum. You can find it at onelifemaps.com.

The in between part of the day is often mundane. You go to work, or do the laundry, cook and clean, pretend you are a taxi. How do I do this daily work in a way that is pleasing to God? It is all in the attitude of my heart. When I anchor myself in the Light and Love of God in the morning I feel filled and focused. From there, it is all about gratitude, wonder and awe. I am thankful for another day to do what I am called to do. To love people and God, to pray without ceasing and to walk humbly in the Light. “This is why it is said: Wake up sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14