Sensory Awareness

Most everyone born with their five senses intact will ultimately develop an enhanced awareness to their social and physical environment. What begins as the most primitive behavior gradually progresses into what should be a fully functioning, biologically sensing organism; or to be more precise, a functioning human. A young child reaches a stage of conscience self-awareness that ignites incipient, sensory emotions prompting a curiosity to seek to understand; who am I, and why do I exist? The foundation of one’s life is built upon indelible reflections cast from within a library of memories that began from these incipient stages of youth. The many pages of recorded short-term events forms chapters that represent life’s stages which are ultimately woven into volumes that record a personal, comprehensive history of every experience in one’s life.

Humility in one’s life and an appreciation for the journey can only be achieved when one can exercise a self-actualizing awareness from a developed ability to examine a comprehensive set of personal events honestly and with well-practiced certitude. This implies a concerted effort to identify purity of truth without accepting poorly defended exceptions; recognizing disappointments in one’s behavior, goodness in one’s actions, rewarding experiences, disappointing experiences, periods of happiness coupled with those of sadness throughout every step along the pathway of one’s journey. The individual monument created as a self-image is far more complex than personal accolades bestowed upon one by society. The true nature of ‘self’ can only be exposed and understood through a meticulous self-assessment by dissecting indelible reflections that have grown to become the essence of one’s soul.

We advance through life creating a network that becomes the base map delineating the directional pathways of our lives. We bear witness to a multitude of sensory experiences. An instance of an event becomes an involvement in time’s continuum measured by our biological clock. These instances are carefully stored as a personal diary, and secured within the vault of our conscience and unconscious minds. Each page is a unique compilation of what is seen, smelled, tasted, touched, and heard for every second, minute, hour, day, week, month, and year that we continue to breathe and function while operating within a finite portion of time.

The elements of our lives are analogous to a continuous series of events captured as a motion picture. Each scene we experience happens at a brief instant of time, yet it will never reappear in precisely the same configuration of one’s sensory observations again. Try as we may, every sensory detail of an event cannot be fully recalled in memory or in a visual image, but the beauty of that experience can remain nestled in a subconscious corridor as a latent projection of thought while we continue to struggle to savor each additional experience as functioning humans.?

An awareness of past experiences and the stories we reflect upon form a volume of memories linking a continuous journey that imprints our self-identity. The expression of a single tear or a friendly smile reflecting upon past events is cathartic. That sensitivity is not a weakness, rather a healthy and necessary emotion that nourishes our inner soul and reinforces our well-being. An inability to recall and add to these events would truly be a tragedy.

Our personal journeys are the riches that cannot be assessed in monetary value. To be cognizant of the trials and tribulations of one's shared experiences is both a curse and a gift. To deny oneself of these past visions in their entirety would be likened to weakening the very fabric that binds our species together. Self-denial and an inability to see one’s inner self through a third eye of conscience awareness weakens an ability to see the world clearly, and ultimately obscures the purity of any relationship we strive to embrace with other inhabitants of the world.

We function to perform an action, a role, a duty, an activity to which it is presumed some purpose will be achieved. We are a composite of cosmic particles floating about in the ether of the universe that have been fused together as a single biological organism born with only the basic elements of survival. We initially possess nothing of material value. We cannot survive without guidance, and must be taught practically everything necessary to ultimately function independent of our caretakers. While perhaps crude, offensive to some of the more overly sensitive carbon forms, and certainly overly simplified; our evolutionary history is an evidentiary reminder that we are merely an extension from an antecedence of primitive origins. Our evolved ability to self-actualize enables us to function in a capacity to be self-aware, however at times, we can tend to be too self-centered, which is a somewhat parsimonious behavioral quirk within individuals who cannot seem to get past their own flawed mannerisms. Frankly, the better qualities of our species aspire to adjust to the interactive natural and human-induced processes; governed by humility and humbled by a measured behavior that recognizes mortal limitations to the human condition. What it really comes down to is we are just one of countless species struggling to survive on this dynamic island planet, Earth.

The image we project to the world must first be identified and accepted within ourselves as a self-awareness. While gazing into a mirror at the reflection staring back at us, we should ask: Do I like what I see? Do I respect what I see? How do I make improvements? The image we exhibit to the world each day must be a direct reflection of that awareness we see within ourselves. Sadly, a small percentage of our species is driven by a profoundly blemished propensity to control, dominate, dictate, and frequently inflict harm (physical and emotional) upon neighboring societies. That image is often portrayed to enhance a behavior typically driven by a desire to acquire money, personal wealth, and power, which by extension, supports a quest to control the masses, dictate the distribution of goods and services, and basically dominate the lives of the minions. This is accomplished by using various forms of force which can include: legal, illegal, economic, emotional, political, and ultimately physical violence that frequently results in massive armed conflicts. The image of this controlling minority of the population is cast as a thinly veiled assertion designed to convince people that their personal values are aligned with the majority which is generally far removed from the actual truth.

Humans have a long history of social, cultural, and religious conflicts coupled with strong variances in proper fundamental behavioral values that include: decorum, politeness, civility, graciousness, decorousness – expressing and practicing human decency. Contradictions in cultural and societal variances, ignorance of facts, a failure to recognize truths, and hypocrisy due to an imperfection of the human spirit bear witness to activities of violence and atrocious acts against individuals and throughout historical societies. A practical awareness to essential principles taught to us as fledgling adults including: honesty, truth, fairness, empathy, balanced judgment, trust, honor, integrity, ethics, morality, law, structure of law, respect for law, compassion, tolerance, responsibility, discipline, moderation, wisdom, fortitude, and justice seem to have become diluted to completely ignored when social norms are disrupted and laws broken by people of wealth, political connections, and means of power who continue to game the legal system in their favor (https://www.academia.edu/102181104/Human_Behavior_and_Social_Graces).

If only folks would become more aware to what is clearly an intimate relationship among everything associated with the planet, a collective world society bound by peace could advance as a more functional, civilized village. Frankly, this will not likely ever happen since the human condition is apparently hard-wired to control, dominate, and dictate through any means possible; ultimately resulting in armed conflict when a controlling body of self-serving individuals decide they need more money, power, and control over the underlings. https://mapdoctor.wordpress.com/2021/01/07/a-challenge-to-democracy/

Reaching an Age of Enlightenment

At what point in our chronological life have we earned the right to be called ‘senior citizens?’ Is there any defensible relevance to attaining a status of becoming ‘old?’ Is a lifetime achievement award the final hurrah? What have we learned if we have finally attained a status of ‘old age?

Let us assume we are fortunate enough to have reached, at a minimum, the age of sixty-five, and our mental faculties are still functional; that is to say, we are operating on a plane greater than three-quarters of a bubble towards plumb (mentally achieving a status of being fully plumb probably does not exist). It follows, at this age we have been around long enough to at least begin to recognize the countless trials and tribulations of our years of life’s experience on the planet. Let us also assume the frontal lobe of the brain has matured enough to the extent that self-reflection, personal assessment, a higher order of reasoning, and measured judgment has now become a collective assemblage of components operating at an intellectual level which can be employed in organized, internalized thought. Hum, that seems a bit beyond reality since some folks have lost or never gained a true grip for what is ‘real’ from what is imaginary; although living in a fantasy world does have its advantage for some folks who can fabricate their version of truth from thin air, and believe breathing it has majestical power.

At this stage in life, everything tends to slow down as we internalize through a presumed heightened sense of personal self-awareness leading to a more compassionate disposition; functioning at a higher priority that appreciates and understands what has become the essential pleasures of being alive. This revelation should take precedence as one continues to examine the affairs and actions of a day’s priorities. This stage of maturity is often described as ‘Reaching an Age of Enlightenment.’ Selected examples include:

? Stopping to chat with another senior citizen, and engaging in a genuine conversation that takes you both back to simpler times. A shared laugh and perhaps a few tears appear as thoughts seemingly lost in the distant fog of clouded memories once again become a clear and pleasant snapshot of past times.

? Driving at a high speed with reckless neglect, potentially endangering anything and anybody in one’s direct path becomes a slowed, more controlled action as a leisurely tour down country backroads, and at speeds that enable those old eyes to focus on objects that have apparently not been seen in decades, if at all.

? That feeling of being free and alive while exploring new terrain on foot, unimpeded by the presence of another living soul other than perhaps those creatures one may encounter in residence along the journey. ?

? Bearing witness to another living creature, unencumbered by any distractions, and simply living their life in the natural environment to which they were born. That brief experience should illuminate an awareness for a symbiotic understanding that everything on the planet is connected.

? A bicycle ride or hike through the woods, sitting along a languorously flowing stream, alone on a remote desert trail, or circling an old neighborhood in reminiscence of years past. Thoughts resurface which reinforce the beauty of recollection.

? Sitting under a mature tree over fifteen-hundred years old (at nearly seventy-six, climbing up onto a limb seems unreasonable, dumb, and frankly, unattainable), alone, admiring its size, stature, longevity, and imagining all of the years that organic plant has endured the changes in weather and countless other environmental transitions.?We are but children when compared to their stature.

? A renewed sense for the smell, touch, sounds, and sights of organic life while hiking in an alpine forest, a bucolic backcountry meadow, or staring out into the infinite expanses of a world ocean.

? Coming to an understanding and acceptance that life will continue on with or without human attendance or input. This realization seems to escape too many folks who seem to think they are control.

? Recognizing that everything on the planet is connected in some way, and that to ignore this truth will be at the demise of everything that has been created.

? Understand that our existence is finite, and that many species have come and gone over the history of the planet as we too will also become extinct at some point in time. The question is will it be sooner or later?

If one is fortunate enough to have reached their senior years, then the realization of a life well lived should become intensely illuminated while reflecting upon good fortune and an enhanced sensitivity to just being healthy enough to witness the awesome beauty and complex functions of the world. Each day when our eyes fly open, and we become consciously aware of being alive by taking that first breath of air, another day to improve our stature, another chance to make a significant contribution to the world, another granted effort to bear witness to strive to get it right in one’s eyes.

Aging paradoxically enhances the senses allowing one to continue to experience everyday miracles of a planetary ecosystem struggling to adjust itself to dynamic natural and human-induced processes. A tear appears when decisions are made for economic or political gains, and at the expense of damaging the fragile balance of biologic life which is totally dependent upon the interactive nature of every organism for its existence. A tear of happiness appears at the sight of animals interacting with each other in a way that suggests they are actually more communicable and adjusted to their environment than we are as humans. A tear of serenity appears at the many examples of human interactions with the planet that are beneficial and forward thinking leaving one with a sense of confidence that in the end human contributions will not be looked upon in total dishonor. A tear arises at the awareness we are very much alive, in touch with life, and that each day we awaken begins the first day of the rest of our lives.

One’s Existence in a Context of Life

It strikes me as a bit disrespectful that too many folks embrace the miracle of life with little more than a yawn and an attitude of personal entitlement. Not only are our mortal lives finite in terms of our biological clocks, but within the scope of the infinite existence of the universe, we are clearly insignificant. Frankly, our individual senses of sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound coupled with an ability to be self-aware of our existence within the world should be enough to humble even the most arrogant and self-centered among us. Fortunately for many, the aging process does have a way of enlightening us to the historic awareness of our life’s journey. If you are blessed and lucky enough to have lived a long life, then reflecting back upon the journey can be a wonderful personal read into the experiences; good and bad, happy and sad, but most certainly a gift to be savored with grace and dignity as someone who has survived long enough to reflect upon the adventure.

This internal ability to reflect is illuminated by memories instilled within the mental pages that have been recorded through the infinite instances in time as we have observed and witnessed; placing one step in front of the other, down the often-complex plexus of pathways that are a testament to life’s decisions and choices. It is instructive and an important lesson to revisit and recall these stories, chapter by chapter, interwoven within a volume of contributions we have made both to ourselves and the world in which we exist.

Be thankful for an ability to reflect upon these ventures that have become the essential elements of one’s life. When the end of mortal life arrives, you will take nothing of material value with you to the other side, assuming such a side even exists. You came into the world with virtually nothing, and you will leave the same way. Your legacy will be in how you treated your family, friends, other inhabitants, and the planet. Be thankful for an acute ability to enjoy the smell of fresh air, the taste of a cold drink of water following a long hike, the touch of the wilderness as it caresses you with every experience abroad, the sounds of life engaged in the activities of the day, and the beautiful sight of a planet desperately in need of protecting. Be thankful for the gift of an extended lifetime of experiences, because there are many folks who have never been as fortunate to live to old age and witness the wonder of it all.

Epilogue

When you come upon someone that does not appear to be dressed the same as you, it is acceptable to recognize difference. When you observe their hair style or color differs from yours, you may make a mental note of this as well. When you notice they do not possess the same color of skin as you, it is also acceptable to make a mental note of this observation. When it becomes apparent, they are from a different state, region, or country as you, this too is notable. When after having a brief conversation with this ‘different’ person, you note they are not of the same religious belief as you. Make note of this as well. Upon a discussion of political beliefs, you also observe they do not agree with yours. This too is acceptable, so make a mental note of your shared differences. During the conversation, you recognize they talk with an accent, a lisp, a higher or lower voice than yours. In short, they speak differently than you which is certainly tolerable. When you come upon a homeless person on the street, you observe their unfortunate condition, and perhaps say, ‘hello’ as you are passing. Keep the experience of this encounter in mind as you continue on down the pathway of life. When you come to the realization that all of these differences are what make us unique in personality, beliefs, cultural lifestyles, and most certainly our behaviors; recognizing these unique qualities of the human species should illuminate our senses of curiosity, wonder, and appreciation, and respect for these variations. It is not acceptable to forcibly impose your will, assert a sense of arrogance, and a condescending attitude towards them by suggesting that your beliefs are the only ones that are correct, and they are basically flawed because they do not agree with you. This is too often a fundamental problem with the manner in which we perceive those who are different than us. I wonder if in our journey to evolve into a more intelligible species, we will be the creator of our own demise. Of significance, will we be destroyed by the very brilliance of our accomplishments and self-indulging ignorance? Are we even aware of these dangers in our behavior??