What does it mean to “cultivate the fullness of our Humanity” in these times and in this culture in which our daily lives are being increasingly dominated by technology? How can we help ourselves and the children who are being born into this world to realize the richness of being fully Human; to experience the beauty of being alive on this amazing planet; to express and enjoy our innate gifts – each one unique?
In the U.S. there are currently so many millions of people being medicated – very young children, teenagers and adults alike – for depression, anxiety, mood disorders, attention disorders. Teen and even child suicide is at alarming rates. What are we missing? How do we deal with this tidal wave of misery? At times, it feels overwhelming and the general “solutions” seem like bandaids trying to stem a hemorrhage.
I believe that there is a potent, readily available, deeply transformative remedy hidden in plain sight, living inside of each of us – closer than right in front of our noses – so close we didn’t think to look there.
There is an aspect our Humanness that is not of our minds or emotions and that is a subtle, profound, Essential Self – some call it the Soul. And it is crying out for attention and nourishment, without which it could die a slow and painful death. I believe that many of the symptoms of what we call ‘mental illness’ are actually the cries of this Soul level Self.
It’s time to start Living AWARE of our very real Human needs for
Awe
Wonder
Appreciation
Reverence
Embodiment
We have forgotten that a moment of AWE makes us feel glad to be alive, deeply connected to nature and to each other with empathy.
WONDER, the beginning of wisdom, has been abandoned in favor of ‘entertainment’ or intellectual explanations (so we will ‘pass the test’). Our precious imagination is being overridden by other people’s images that are flashed into our minds constantly.
How often in our daily lives do we experience APPRECIATION and gratitude bringing warmth to our hearts?
For many of us, REVERENCE and respect were tossed out in the refuse pile of the fallout from the failures of institutionalized religion and the abuses of power in systemic corruption. Reverence gives us something noble to which we can aspire.
We have largely lost the joy of exuberant EMBODIMENT – the mastery of our own body through free, independent play, self-expressive movement and satisfying purposeful work. At earlier and earlier ages, children are expected to sit still in a chair or be trained in other people’s movement techniques which are required for some kind of athletic prowess with the goal of ‘winning’ or being a ‘star’. Our self-expression becomes ‘boxed in’, ‘bottled up’ and either submits and atrophies or explodes in chaotic bursts.
When we ‘re-member’ what Living A.W.A.R.E. feels like, we can become whole Human Beings again.