Wednesday, April 27, 2016

On the State of Being "Woke." (Be Ever Waking)





Just as one rises in the morning to a day unexplored, the act of "waking" is continuous. Remaining "awake" for hours and days on end skews perception and feeds illusion. Even in times of battle, sleep must be obtained. Soldiers take turns sleeping while the others stand watch so that they all can be more effective. I see the declaration of "stay woke" used to admonish and belittle quite often. It implies that one can awaken to an idea, concept, or truth and then must perpetually maintain that state of knowledge & acceptance. 


But the clearer picture shows that we awaken to a concept. We understand it. We rest in it as true until some new piece of information brings deeper understanding. I think it would be more beneficial for us instead to encourage each other to "be ever waking." This acknowledges and validates that resting in what we know is an acceptable pit stop on the road to knowing more. 

Just like a spouse that greets you with a smile or the mother that kisses your forehead in the morning after being awakened by an alarm that is necessary but can be jolting, lets us as kindred be there to say "Good Morning! Let me help you get into this new day" as opposed to decrying how long they've slept. Waking to ridicule only makes one long for the "peace" of the "sleep." 

To make it through this thing called life we need each other, and at any given moment we rotate between being the sleeper, the alarm, and the awakened. Whatever your current state, remember you're coming around to the next state soon enough.  

Be Ever Waking!‬