Do we really need to awaken?
One of the words, which I feel is being overused and thrown around like nothing else is ‘to awaken’ or the ‘big awakening’; at least in certain circles that is.
Personally I don’t only get fed up with certain narratives, which get pushed too much, but I also don’t like, when they turn into their own sort of dogma, telling people ‘how it is’…
So, on my walk the other day, I was pondering this question:
‘Do we really need to be awakened? Is it really necessary?’
Isn’t there a huge danger of just creating more division with the whole enlightenment agenda I wonder.
Over here are the more evolved people, knowing what’s really going on behind the scenes. Channeling secret messages from Santa Claus and Co. But on the other side are the stupid, ignorant ones, watching TV and eating chips.
There’s of course also the question of what being awakened really means. But let’s not go into that right now, it’ll be a discussion with no end in sight.
I myself am a seeker of some sort and I remember vividly an intense phase in my life, where I dove into Buddhism, doing retreats, the meditations etc. It kind of happened by accident, because someone had told me about Dzogchen Beara, a beautiful Tibetan buddhist centre right on the cliffs. Off I went, volunteering and much more. I took it quite seriously.
It was one of my most happy times in Dzogchen Beara and I still love to visit there, as it is a very magical, special place. Great for finding some inner peace and new perspectives.
I remember vividly, how invested I had been in the goal of enlightenment. Finally becoming this better, accomplished person. That was the main thing, right? All the prostrations, mantras, meditations were supposed to do the trick at some point hopefully.
Naturally I didn’t seem to be able to get there and I felt this disappointment growing inside of me. Another failure on some level.
At the point, where things got too much for my free spirited self, I slowly but surely pulled back. I just felt too much pressure with all the accumulations I was supposed to do.
Still, there’s a lot of beautiful things I took out of this phase.
Nowadays, a long time later, I don’t believe so much in the enlightenment, awakening narrative anymore.
Because I’ve come to the conclusion:
‘What about being human?’
‘What about embracing our imperfections?’
Of course we can work on ourselves and change bad behaviours, if necessary. But chasing after this unattainable goal of awakening often comes from a place of ‘not good enough’ in my opinion.
Not being good enough the way we are, right now. Never good enough, no matter what.
There’s a real danger of being pulled into endless self-improvement, enlightenment cycles, chasing the trophy, while forgetting everything else. Wanting to finally matter in this crazy world:
‘I am going to be more evolved, awakened and enlightened than everyone else.’
But we need to find our ‘mattering’ somewhere else. Maybe in a more healthy way, because I believe the ‘awakening narrative’ can turn quite sour, quite quickly…
It’s this ideal of something, which is so out of reach at the same time.
Don’t you think we would be better off, if we cared more for other people and nature for example. If we faced up to the worldly problems we are dealt with right now.
Maybe it would be a good idea to just forget about the whole 'Awakening' goal for a bit. Be a little bit kinder towards each other instead. Maybe it is time we really get out of denial, running after a fantasy. It might be more important to see what things really are and who we really are, including the good and the bad. Why not be a little bit more embracing of all of that, our imperfections, our humanness.
Honestly, I don't care whether you're awakened or not. If you’re ‘an awakened arsehole’, then please just ignore me. I’d rather be with an unawakened, compassionate TV-watching chips-eating person. A person, who simply loves me the way I am and where I don't have to be something or someone I'm not.