It occurred to me recently how so many of us are essentially sleepwalking.
We go through life, without really participating in it.
We’re sat at the game and watching it unfold before our eyes, without ever rolling the dice. We walk through the garden without really ever stopping to see what is surrounding us, and we miss the scent of the flowers, and the feel of the wind on our faces.
It hit me that in order to fully engage with what God has for us in life, we have to fully engage with life. We are so often asleep on the inside, going through daily, monotonous actions, without catching the joy in life, and without fully participating.
We’re afraid if we step outside, we’ll get caught in rain, or it’ll be cold, or windy. So we stay indoors, watching the day pass by.
In letting the day pass by, and not engaging with what’s going on, we miss out on experiences that are part of shaping us. We miss out on memories that make life rich. We miss out on feelings which keep us connected to others and to God. We miss out on adventures that God wants us to have! He’s out there splashing in the puddles and having his hair blown in the wind, enjoying the elements that HE created, waiting for you to join him.
We are all afraid of those strong gusts of wind that we are afraid will knock us off our feet. Those events in life that cause us to lose our balance and our footing. But without that gust of wind, we won’t ever see the new ground to the left of us, that is waiting for us to step into it.
Obviously, I’m not talking about weather here. Those gusts of wind or rainstorms that leave us exposed and vulnerable are events and circumstances that happen to all of us. The question is whether we will allow these events to wake us up on the inside, and enable us to participate more in the life we’ve been given, or whether we let them shut us down and fall into a deeper sleep.
Life is all about becoming more awakened to who we are, who we’ve been made to be, what God has put inside of us, and how he intended for us to partner with him. I’ve realised that the older I get, the less I know about myself, and the more there is to understand. However I fear that many have fallen asleep during this process and never realise this, and so never wrestle with understanding the complexities of who they are.
I choose to be awake, to engage, to participate in life, and to not be afraid of the feelings and consequences that come with that. The more I decide to stay awake, the more I understand the dreams God has given me, and the more I am able to see them in those around me. I do believe that staying awake is a choice that we must continually make. It’s so easy to shut down, withdraw and close the door on life. We can slip into a daily routine and forget to live the day, and before we know it days, weeks and years have passed.
I choose to get up, get out, move and step out into the wind, the rain and the day, and experience every element of the day. Who knows the journey you’ll be taken on, the beauty you will behold, the boldness you’ll discover you always had, and the destination you didn’t know was there.
But you have to move…
This article originally appeared on Simcha Natan’s blog, April 10, 2018, and reposted with permission.